Jay Leno, the American comedian who for years hosted the famed US talk show The Tonight Show, has hit out at modern talk shows that discuss politics, claiming he doesn’t think “anybody wants to hear a lecture”.
Leno’s comments, made in a conversation with the Ronald Reagan Institute, were published by the foundation on 22 July, shortly after Stephen Colbert’s US talk show was cancelled by the US broadcaster CBS – in what Colbert’s supporters believe was a politically motivated act due to Colbert’s regular lampooning of Donald Trump.
It is unclear if Leno made the remarks before or after Colbert’s cancellation, but he said in the video that he disagreed with the politicisation of late-night talk shows.
“I like to think that people come to a comedy show to get away from the pressures of life,” he said. “I love political humour – don’t get me wrong. But people wind up cosying too much to one side or the other.”
He continued: “I don’t think anybody wants to hear a lecture … Why shoot for just half an audience? Why not try to get the whole? I like to bring people into the big picture. I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group – or just don’t do it at all. I’m not saying you have to throw your support [on one side]. But just do what’s funny.”
Leno also recalled being condemned for the same exact jokes by both Republican and Democrat supporters – which he suggested was a good thing.
“That’s how you get a whole audience,” he said. “Now you have to be content with half the audience, because you have to give your opinion.”
Colbert’s The Late Show was axed earlier this month in what CBS claimed was a “financial decision”.
But many of Colbert’s fans and supporters – which include high-profile names including David Letterman and Elizabeth Warren – raised their eyebrows at the timing of the decision. The announcement came shortly after Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, agreed to pay Donald Trump $16m to settle the president’s lawsuit against the company over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris – which the network’s lawyers deemed “meritless” in recent court filings.
Trump gloated over The Late Show’s cancellation on social media, writing: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.”
Trump had sued Paramount over what he claimed to be “electoral interference” over the editing of an answer to a question posed to Kamala Harris in an episode of 60 Minutes.
Trump’s lawsuit was mocked in the season premiere of South Park, which was broadcast on Comedy Central a day after the show signed a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) deal with their network’s owners Paramount.
