Former late-night television host Jay Leno asked why comedians only “shoot for half an audience” in a recent interview, saying he doesn’t believe “anybody wants to hear a lecture.”
Leno hosted NBC’s The Tonight Show from 1992 to 2009 before comedian Conan O’Brien briefly became the new host, with Leno hosting the show again from 2010 through 2014. Leno said he used to receive hate mail from his show’s audience of both political spectrums, “over the same joke,” and viewed this as a positive since he was getting “a whole audience.”
However, Leno said current late-night hosts need to be content with “half the audience,” since the hosts “have to give your opinion.”
“And to me, I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from the things, you know, the depressions of life,” Leno said in an interview with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
“And I love political humor, don’t get me wrong. But it’s just, what happens with … people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other.”
Leno also said he prefers to bring his audience into “the big picture,” with his comedy routine, and didn’t understand trying to “alienate” a specific group. He concluded comedians don’t have to “throw your support” to anyone, and should “just do what’s funny.”
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Leno said on Nov. 6, the day after the presidential election, that he was “not a fan” of the election results, in which then-presidential candidate Donald Trump beat then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Despite this, he said the election was “honest,” calling it “a great day for democracy,” on The Talk.
In July, CBS announced it is pulling the plug on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, citing “financial” reasons. Host Stephen Colbert is one of several late-night comedians who have been frequent critics of Trump, and told the president, “go f*** yourself,” over the president’s celebration the show is getting cancelled.