Jon Lovett

{{Short description|American podcaster, writer, and television producer (born 1982)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Jon Lovett

| image = Jon Lovett SXSW 2017.jpg

| caption = Lovett in 2017

| birth_name = Jonathan Ira Lovett

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|08|17}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| occupation = {{hlist|Speechwriter|podcaster|television producer|screenwriter|comedian}}

| alma_mater = Williams College (BA)

| partner = Ronan Farrow (2011–2022)
Ari Schwartz (2024-present)

| years_active = 2004–present

| party = Democratic

}}

Jonathan Ira Lovett (born August 17, 1982) is an American podcaster, comedian, journalist, and former speechwriter. Lovett is a co-founder of Crooked Media, along with Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor. All three formerly worked together as White House staffers during the Obama administration.{{Cite web|url=https://crooked.com/team/|title=Team|website=Crooked Media|language=en-US|access-date=February 17, 2020}} Lovett is a regular host of the Crooked Media podcasts Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It. As a speechwriter, he worked for both President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton when she was a United States senator and a 2008 presidential candidate. Lovett also co-created the NBC sitcom 1600 Penn, and was a writer and producer on the third season of HBO's The Newsroom. Lovett appeared as a contestant on Survivor in 2024.

Early life

Lovett was born and raised in Woodbury, Long Island{{cite web|url=https://www.heyalma.com/18-things-to-know-about-jewish-podcaster-jon-lovett/|title=18 Things to Know About Jewish Podcaster Jon Lovett|author=Frick, Evelyn|publisher=HeyAlma|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=September 13, 2024|access-date=May 29, 2025|archive-date=May 29, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.ph/dBQH6}}{{cite web|url=https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/jon-lovett-survivor-47-hj1sugqp|title=Long Island-raised Jon Lovett, ex-White House speechwriter, joins 'Survivor' season 47|author=Lovece, Frank|newspaper=Newsday|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=September 5, 2024|access-date=May 29, 2025|archive-date=May 29, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.ph/ZDOac}} in a Reform Jewish family of Ukrainian ancestry{{cite podcast | url=https://crooked.com/podcast/gay-for-impeachment/ | title=Lovett or Leave It | website=crooked.com | publisher=Crooked Media | host=Jon Lovett | date=September 28, 2019 | access-date=October 5, 2019 }} that operated a box factory started by his grandfather.{{cite web|url=http://www.hughhewitt.com/talking-trump-transition-president-obama-speechwriter-jon-lovett/ |title=Talking Trump Transition With President Obama Speechwriter Jon Lovett |publisher=Hugh Hewitt |date=November 22, 2016 |access-date=December 2, 2016}} He attended Syosset High School.

Lovett graduated from Williams College in 2004 with a degree in mathematics.{{cite web |url=https://www.caaspeakers.com/jon-lovett/ |title=Creative Artists Agency Bio |publisher=Creative Artists Agency |access-date=December 2, 2016 |archive-date=September 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912165442/https://www.caaspeakers.com/jon-lovett/ |url-status=dead }} His senior thesis, Rotating Linkages in a Normed Plane,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jon-lovetts-written-for-the-president-but-will-that-get-him-to-hollywood/2011/08/22/gIQAhZmIxJ_story.html|title=Jon Lovett's written for the president, but will that get him to Hollywood? |first=Jason |last=Horowitz |newspaper = The Washington Post |date=September 2, 2011 |access-date=December 2, 2016}} led to a related publication on the same topic in American Mathematical Monthly.{{cite web|url=http://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/american-mathematical-monthly/american-mathematical-monthly-augustseptember-2007 |title=American Mathematical Monthly August-September 2007 |publisher = Mathematical Association of America |access-date=December 2, 2016}} Lovett was the Williams College class speaker at his commencement ceremony in 2004.{{cite web|url=http://archives.williams.edu/williamshistory/commencement/2004/lovett.php |title=Commencement 2004 |publisher = Williams College |date=June 6, 2004 |access-date=December 2, 2016}}

After graduation, Lovett spent a year working as a paralegal and doing stand-up comedy on the side.{{Cite news |last=Wilstein |first=Matt |date=2017-11-15 |title=Jon Lovett on Bringing Late-Night Flavor to Political Podcasts |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/jon-lovett-on-bringing-late-night-flavor-to-political-podcasts |access-date=2024-07-07 |work=The Daily Beast |language=en}}

Political speechwriter

File:Barack Obama talks with speechwriters, 2010.jpg

In 2004, Lovett volunteered for John Kerry's presidential campaign. He was asked to write a statement for the candidate, and his work led to an offer of a writing internship.{{cite web|url=http://tuftsdaily.com/news/2012/10/15/jon-lovett-speaks-on-politics-election-season/ |title=Jon Lovett speaks on politics, election season |publisher=The Tufts Daily |date=October 15, 2012 |access-date=December 2, 2016}} He briefly worked in Jon Corzine's Senate office. He was hired in 2005 to assist Sarah Hurwitz as a speechwriter for then-Senator Hillary Clinton, and he continued to write speeches for her through her 2008 presidential campaign.

When Clinton lost the 2008 Democratic primary contest, Lovett won an anonymous contest to write speeches for President Barack Obama in the White House. Lovett wrote speeches in the Obama administration for three years, working closely with Jon Favreau and David Axelrod. Prominent speeches that he wrote include policy speeches on financial reform and don't ask, don't tell, as well as remarks at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.{{cite web|url=http://www.aspenideas.org/speaker/jon-lovett |title=Aspen Ideas Festival Bio |publisher=Aspen Ideas Festival |date=2015 |access-date=December 2, 2016}}

Lovett secretly officiated the first same-sex marriage in the White House, before the Obama administration supported same-sex marriage.{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/playbook/2015/07/fireworks-edition-revealed-a-clandestine-gay-wedding-in-the-white-house-during-obamas-first-term-officiant-jon-lovett-christie-to-return-to-morning-joe-after-18-months-scott-walker-joins-sn-212543|title=FIREWORKS EDITION – REVEALED: A clandestine gay wedding in the White House during Obama's first term (officiant: Jon Lovett) – CHRISTIE to return to MORNING JOE after 18 months – SCOTT WALKER joins Sn|website=POLITICO|date=July 4, 2015 |language=en|access-date=September 15, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2015/07/07/obamas-former-speechwriter-reportedly-held-secret-same-sex-mar|title=Obama's Former Speechwriter Reportedly Held Secret Same-Sex Marriage at the White House|date=July 7, 2015|access-date=September 15, 2018|language=en}}

Media career

=Television=

In 2011, before Barack Obama ran for reelection, Lovett left the White House and moved to California to become a screenwriter,{{cite web|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2013/01/10/qa-jon-lovett-former-obama-speechwriter-on-his-nbc-comedy-1600-penn/ |title=Q&A: Jon Lovett, Former Obama Speechwriter, on His NBC Comedy 1600 Penn |publisher=Time Magazine |date=January 10, 2013 |access-date=December 2, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/09/white-house-speechwriter-leaving-for-hollywood/244562/|title=White House Speechwriter Leaving for Hollywood|website=The Atlantic |date=September 6, 2011 }} citing a desire to write independently and focus on creative comedy full-time. He collaborated with Josh Gad and Jason Winer on the television series 1600 Penn, of which Lovett was a co-creator, executive producer, and writer from 2012 until its cancellation in 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4922739/?ref_=ttfc_fc_wr2 |title=Jon Lovett Filmography |publisher=IMDb |access-date=December 2, 2016}} He then worked as a writer, producer, and advisor on season three of HBO's The Newsroom. From 2012 to 2015, Lovett also contributed opinion pieces to venues like The Atlantic.{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/author/jon-lovett/ |title=All Stories by Jon Lovett |website=The Atlantic |year=2020 |access-date=January 31, 2020}} In 2024, he competed on the 47th season of the CBS reality television show Survivor; he was the first contestant voted off the season.{{Cite web |last=Frank |first=Jason P. |date=2024-05-23 |title=Jon Lovett to Leaf It on Survivor |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/survivor-46-cast-jon-lovett.html |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=Vulture |language=en}}

=Crooked Media=

Starting in March 2016, Lovett co-hosted The Ringer's political podcast Keepin' it 1600 with former fellow Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor.{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/obama-favreau-clinton-trump-voter-229213 |title='Obama bros' learn to love Hillary |publisher=Politico |date=October 6, 2016 |access-date=December 2, 2016}} The podcast was intended to cover the 2016 presidential race and not expected to continue after that.{{cite news |title=The Voices in Blue America's Head |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/magazine/the-voices-in-blue-americas-head.html |date=November 22, 2017 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 31, 2020 |last=Zengerle |first=Jason}} But after the November 2016 election, Lovett, Favreau and Vietor wished to become engaged in politics again without having to leave Los Angeles or return to political campaigning. So they founded a liberal media company, Crooked Media, with the flagship podcast Pod Save America.Rutenberg, Jim, [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/business/media/rutenberg-trump-opposition-pod-save-america.html?emc=edit_th_20170321&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=68634180&_r=0 Opposition and a Shave: Former Obama Aides Counter Trump], Media, The New York Times, March 20, 2017 Crooked Media, and Pod Save America in particular, has been compared to previous left-wing efforts like Air America to match America's conservative talk radio, and Lovett has been characterized as providing comic relief to the programming. The company has since launched a range of podcasts, several of which regularly feature Lovett.

In March 2017, Lovett began hosting Lovett or Leave It, a panel show podcast produced by Crooked Media.{{Cite news|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/radio/lovett-or-leave-it-obama-speechwriter-office-trump/|title=Obama's former speechwriter launches new podcast|date=March 22, 2017|work=iNews|access-date=January 2, 2018|language=en-GB}} The podcast, typically recorded in front of a live audience in Los Angeles, embarked on national and international tours featuring live versions of both Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It.{{Cite news|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/08/pod-save-america-announces-nationwide-tour/|title=Pod Save America announces nationwide tour|date=August 16, 2017|work=Consequence of Sound|access-date=January 2, 2018|language=en-US}} He was also involved in launching Crooked Media's voter recruitment and education project, Vote Save America.{{cite news |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90250825/the-pod-save-america-tv-show-is-not-going-to-save-democracy-or-even-your-friday-nights |title=The Pod Save America TV show is not going to save democracy–or even your Friday nights |work=Fast Company |access-date=February 1, 2020 |last=Lidsky |first=David |date=October 13, 2018}}

Personal life

Lovett is gay. He and investigative journalist and author Ronan Farrow became romantically involved in 2011.{{cite web|url=https://www.recode.net/2018/5/4/17320710/transcript-journalist-ronan-farrow-recode-decode|website = Vox |title=Full transcript: Journalist Ronan Farrow on Recode Decode|publisher=Vox Media |date=May 4, 2019 |access-date=October 15, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://player.fm/series/all-of-the-above-with-norman-lear/john-lovett |title=Jon Lovett |last=Lear |first=Norman |date=2017 |access-date=October 15, 2019 |publisher=All of the Above with Norman Lear}} In October 2019, Farrow published Catch and Kill, where he publicly announced their engagement after proposing to Lovett in an earlier draft of his book.{{cite book |last=Farrow |first=Ronan |title=Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |date=October 15, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecut.com/2019/10/ronan-farrow-catch-and-kill-proposal-jon-lovett.html|title=Ronan Farrow Proposed to His Fiancé in a Draft of Catch and Kill|last=Arnold|first=Amanda|date=October 16, 2019|website=The Cut|language=en-us|access-date=October 17, 2019}} However, in a March 2023 episode of his podcast, Lovett or Leave It, Lovett stated that he was single after the end of a "10 and a half year" relationship.{{cite podcast |url=https://crooked.com/podcast/if-it-aint-woke-dont-fix-it/ |title=If It Ain't Woke Don't Fix It |work=Lovett or Leave It |publisher=Crooked Media |host=Jon Lovett |date=March 18, 2023 |time=4:42}}

On March 14, 2025, Lovett and Ari Schwartz, chief of staff at Crooked Media, announced their engagement.{{cite magazine |last=Kile |first=Meredith |date=March 17, 2025 |title=Pod Save America Host Jon Lovett Announces Engagement to Ari Schwartz, His Company's Chief of Staff |magazine=People |url=https://people.com/jon-lovett-engaged-colleague-ari-schwartz-11698488 |access-date=May 18, 2025 }}{{cite web |last=Sim |first=Bernardo |date=March 18, 2025 |title=Jon Lovett and Ari Schwartz open up about their engagement and wedding |website=out.com |url=https://www.out.com/celebs/jon-lovett-ari-schwartz-engaged-wedding-plans |access-date=May 18, 2025}}{{cite AV media |type=YouTube video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjBWCSu9x_U |title=If It Ain't Woke Don't Fix It |series=Lovett or Leave It |publisher=Crooked Media |date=March 14, 2025}}