Schwarzenegger apologizes for affair on 'The Daily Show'

This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.

On Sunday night, the venerable news show "60 Minutes" aired an interview with former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. On Monday, he was in less serious territory, appearing on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."

Jon Stewart began the interview by seeking Schwarzenegger's contrition -- for "Jingle All the Way," the Schwarzenegger comedy panned by critics.

"Dreadful," Stewart said. "Just dreadful."

Schwarzenegger and the crowd laughed, but the conversation quickly turned to the actor-turned-politician's notorious affair with a maid, which produced a son and led to his divorce from Maria Shriver. 

"This was a mistake that I made," Schwarzenegger said. "I feel embarrassed about it, I feel ashamed about it. I hurt a lot of people by doing that."

Schwarzenegger, who waited years before admitting the affair to his wife, told Stewart that "it's much better to just talk about it."

Stewart asked Schwarzenegger if he could somehow go back in time and stop himself from making the same mistakes, and the former governor joked that could be the plot for "Terminator 16."

Schwarzenegger has been trying to rehabilitate his image, writing a memoir and launching a think tank with $20 million.

[For the Record: 8:20 a.m., Oct. 1: A previous version of this post stated that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger contributed $20 million of his own money for a new think tank. The total includes a personal donation as well as money he collected through fundraising.]

ALSO: 

Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses affair in interview

Arnold Schwarzenegger describes being busted for love child

Book Review: In 'Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story,' Arnold Schwarzenegger holds back

-- Chris Megerian in Sacramento

twitter.com/chrismegerian

Photo: Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in July. Credit: David Muang / EPA