Jon Stewart and his iconic program, The Daily Show, are here to stay, at least as long as he has a say in it.

During a conversation with David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker, at the 26th annual New Yorker Festival on Sunday evening (Oct. 26), Stewart addressed the uncertainty surrounding his late-night show amid changes at its parent company, Paramount Skydance. The event was covered by DECIDER.

Stewart shared his philosophy, saying, “You don’t compromise on what you do, and you keep at it until they tell you it’s time to go.” He emphasized that this is all anyone can do in such situations.

Remnick brought up Stewart’s earlier comments made after CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, another program under the Paramount Skydance umbrella.

“I believe your words were, ‘I’m not giving in. I’m not going anywhere, I think,'” Remnick recalled, to which Stewart humorously acknowledged his own “neurotic” tendencies.

When asked about his contract coming up in December, Stewart told Remnick that they’re “working on staying,” confirming that if the decision is up to him, he will keep his job.

The merger between Paramount and Skydance Media under Paramount CEO David Ellison was completed on Aug. 7. Variety reported that mass layoffs at the company would be taking place this week. Earlier this month, the company announced their acquisition of The Free Press, and named its co-founder and CEO, Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Later on in their conversation, on the topic of the controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival, Stewart noted that “we all have our lines that we are willing to cross,” citing his own experience working at Apple and the fact that “there’s a lot of people who believe that Apple is exploitative in a way that’s horrific.” Remnick then turned this idea toward Stewart’s future with Paramount, asking him, “But if you see something else happening in the company, do you know where those lines are? Like with the news?”

Stewart replied, “Yeah, that’s a great point. Yeah, they’ve already done things that I’m upset about. But then if I had integrity, maybe I would stand up and go, I’m out. Or maybe the integrity thing to do would be to stay in and keep fighting in the foxhole.”

After nine years away, Stewart returned to The Daily Show in 2024 ahead of the presidential election to helm episodes on Monday nights. Stewart returns to The Daily Show tonight at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.