April 19, 2012
Ms. Irene Rosenfeld
Chairman and CEO
Kraft Foods Inc.
Three Lakes Drive
Northfield, IL 60093
Dear Ms. Rosenfeld:
As president of the nation’s largest Catholic civil rights organization, I have been engaged in many public issues. But rarely have I encountered anything that is more blatantly anti-Christian—and exploitative of women—as what Jon Stewart did on the April 16 episode of “The Daily Show.” The enclosed news releases and picture say it all.
As the CEO of Kraft, I implore you to withdraw the MiO Energy sponsorship from this show. It is not as though I shot from the hip: on April 17, I issued a news release on this subject and sent an e-mail to the Senior VP at Comedy Central Communications, Steve Albani, requesting an apology from Jon Stewart. When there was no response, I had hand-delivered to his office on April 18 a letter personally asking him to have Stewart issue an apology. Again, none was forthcoming.
Please understand that in no way do I suggest that Kraft had anything to do with this unprecedented assault on Christian sensibilities. But it is important, given the Kraft-MiO Energy sponsorship of Stewart’s show, for you to put down a cultural marker and let them know that either Stewart apologizes or you will withdraw sponsorship.
Sincerely,
William A. Donohue, Ph.D.
President
