Comedy legend Jay Leno is speaking out amid controversy over the partisan nature of late-night television, questioning why performers would choose to alienate half of their audience.
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Leno, 75, the former host of “The Tonight Show,” recently made his remarks while sitting down with Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation president David Trulio. The iconic host pondered why some comedians are content with only courting one political side of the aisle.
“Well, why shoot for just half an audience all the time?” Leno said. “You know, why not try to get the whole.”
He continued, “I mean, I like to bring people into the big picture. I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group, you know, or just don’t do it at all. I’m not saying you have to throw your support or whatever, but just do what’s funny.”
After Trulio noted an analysis of Leno’s work found he balanced his critiques of Democrats and Republicans, the former late-night star recalled how he would often get “hate letters” from people on both sides of the aisle, Fox News reported.
Some would accuse him of being too cozy with Democrats and others with Republicans — often reacting to the same joke. For Leno, this meant he was striking the right balance.
“And I go, ’Well, that’s good,'” he said. “That’s how you get a whole audience.”
However, Leno said that only half the audience can be courted when comedians are driven by their opinions. Ultimately, the comedian believes people come to comedy shows to escape the “pressures of life” and other issues.
“I love political humor, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But it’s just what happens when people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other.”
Leno believes comedy can unite people because “funny is funny” and, in the end, he doesn’t believe “anybody wants to hear a lecture.”
It should be noted that Johnny Carson, Leno’s predecessor, also took a similar perspective, once telling “60 Minutes”, “That’s not what I’m there for” when it came to late-night shows taking on serious issues.
In fact, he said trying to sway people wasn’t something he believed he was meant to do in his role.
The Leno interview was reportedly taped before CBS announced its cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” a decision that has sparked a litany of controversy. Colbert took over in 2015, succeeding the former host, David Letterman.
Despite CBS citing financial reasons for the cancellation, critics believe that politics may be a factor.
Colbert and other late-night hosts have been heavily critical of Trump and Paramount, the parent company of CBS, recently settled with the president over a lawsuit surrounding an edited “60 Minutes” episode that featured former Vice President Kamala Harris, as CNN noted.
With Skydance Media’s purchase of Paramount, critics are claiming that the cancellation might be politically motivated. Regardless, networks and companies reserve the right to choose the content they present, and there’s currently no definitive evidence that politics is a primary factor.
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