Jay Leno is speaking out about the direction of late-night comedy, warning that today’s hosts are driving away half their viewers by leaning too far into partisan politics.
In a wide-ranging interview with David Trulio, president and CEO of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the longtime Tonight Show host explained why he kept his own political views under wraps during his 22-year tenure.
“I used to get letters saying, ‘You and your Republican friends…’ and others saying, ‘You and your Democratic buddies,’ all about the same joke,” Leno recalled with a laugh. “And I thought, well, that’s perfect—that’s how you reach everybody.”
Leno, now 75, said he made a deliberate effort to keep his political humor balanced, aiming to make audiences laugh rather than lecture them.
“Now, it seems you have to settle for half the audience, because everything’s about giving your opinion,” he said.
Asked if he had advice for today’s comedians, Leno pointed to his decades-long friendship with Rodney Dangerfield as an example of how comedy can transcend politics.
“I knew Rodney 40 years. I have no idea if he was a Democrat or a Republican—we just talked about jokes,” Leno said.
He emphasized that audiences turn to comedy to escape everyday pressures. “I love political humor, don’t get me wrong. But when you lean too much to one side, you alienate the other,” he said. “Why shoot for just half an audience?”
Leno’s remarks come amid controversy surrounding the upcoming cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. CBS announced earlier this month that the show will end in May 2026, calling it a “purely financial decision” unrelated to content or ratings.
The announcement followed CBS and Paramount’s $16 million legal settlement with President Donald Trump over the network’s airing of an edited interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election season.
Colbert, known for his frequent criticism of President Trump, blasted the settlement as a “big fat bribe” during a recent broadcast. Days later, CBS announced the show’s cancellation, prompting backlash from Colbert’s supporters, who claim the move was politically motivated.
President Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, prompting an angry on-air response from Colbert: “Go f— yourself.”
The controversy has sparked a wave of solidarity from fellow late-night hosts. Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and Jon Stewart joined Colbert at a recent taping, and David Letterman, who created The Late Show and personally chose Colbert as his successor, denounced the cancellation as “pure cowardice.”
But for Leno, the lesson is clear: comedy should bring people together—not push them apart.
“Funny is funny,” he said. “If someone can laugh at a joke about their own side, that’s when you’ve really done your job.”
