Sanchez apologizes for 'Jews' comment

During a Sept. 30 appearance on a satellite radio show, Sanchez said Comedy Central's Jon Stewart is a bigot and wondered aloud whether American Jews are "an oppressed minority."

CNN issued a statement the following day saying Sanchez was "no longer with the company."

Sanchez, 51, whom Stewart has ridiculed repeatedly on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," asked during the radio interview to whom Stewart is bigoted, said: "Everybody else who's not like him. Look at his show, I mean, what does he surround himself with?"
He went on to observe that Jews run CNN.

"I'm telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart, and to imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority? Yeah," Sanchez said.

In a statement Wednesday, Sanchez said he spoke with Stewart Monday and apologized "for my inartful comments from last week," tampabay.com reported.

"I sincerely extend this apology to anyone else whom I may have offended," Sanchez said.

"As Jon was kind enough to note in his show Monday night, I am very much opposed to hate and intolerance, in any form, and I have frequently spoken out against prejudice," the statement said. "Despite what my tired and mangled words may have implied, they were never intended to suggest any sort of narrow-mindedness and should never have been made."

Sanchez said he has "the highest regard for CNN and for my six wonderful years with them" and he looks forward to "my next step with great anticipation."

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