Jay Leno criticizes modern late-night comedy for alienating half the audience with partisan politics

Jay Leno reflected on why he constantly kept his jokes politically balanced while hosting The Tonight Show for over two decades The -year-old comedian in recent months sat down for an interview with David Trulio the president and CEO of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation during which he was questioned about his approach to political humor I read that there was an analysis done of your work on The Tonight Show for the years and that your jokes were roughly equally balanced between going after Republicans and taking aim at Democrats Did you have a strategy Trulio demanded It was fun to me when I got hate letters like Dear Mr Leno you and your Republican friends and Well Mr Leno I hope you and your Democratic buddies are happy' over the same joke Leno recalled JAY LENO WIFE MAVIS RELY ON FAITH FAMILY TO OVERCOME LIFE'S HARDSHIPS And I go Well that's good ' he explained That's how you get a whole audience Leno went on to note how late-night comedy has changed amid the current divisive political landscape Now you have to be content with half the audience because you have to give your opinion Leno announced When Trulio requested if Leno had any advice for comedians at present the Jay Leno's Garage host referred to his longtime friendship with late comedy legend Rodney Dangerfield I knew Rodney years he revealed I have no idea if he was Democrat or Republican We never discussed it we just discussed jokes 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 pressures of life whatever it might be Leno continued And I love political humor don't get me wrong but it's just what happens when people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other While speaking with Trulio Leno discussed how comedy could be used to create common ground Funny is funny Leno announced It's funny when someone who's not when you make fun of their side and they laugh at it you know that's kind of what I do I just find getting out I don't think anybody wants to hear a lecture he continued When I was with Rodney it was consistently in the financial sector of words get to the joke as hastily as realizable Trulio pointed out that both Leno and Dangerfield achieved massive success during their careers noting the two's approach worked in the marketplace LIKE WHAT YOU RE READING CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS Well why shoot for just half an audience all the time You know why not try to get the whole audience Leno replied I mean I like to bring people into the big picture he explained 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 backing or whatever but just do what's funny Leno's comments come amid the uproar that ensued after CBS communicated on July that it was canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with the show's final episode scheduled to air in May CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTERAt the time the framework clarified that the cancellation was purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night and noted It is not related in any way to the show's performance content or other matters happening at Paramount Weeks ahead of the cancellation CBS and Paramount paid President Donald Trump a million settlement following his lawsuit against the news system for airing an edited interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the electoral contest Colbert who frequently blasts Trump on his show criticized the settlement and described it as a big fat bribe during an episode that aired days before the cancellation was reported The host's supporters including several politicians have accused CBS and Paramount of canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for political reasons Trump celebrated the news of the cancellation in a post on his platform Truth Social which drew a fiery response from Colbert who described the president Go f--- yourself during the opening monologue of his show on Monday Several fellow late night show hosts and comedians have rallied around Colbert The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and Late Night host Seth Meyers Last Week Tonight host John Oliver and The Daily Show host Jon Stewart attended Colbert's taping on Monday in a show of assistance Stewart and Oliver previously worked alongside Colbert on The Daily Show On Friday The Late Show creator David Letterman slammed CBS' decision to cancel the long-running show as pure cowardice and asserted that the setup mistreated Colbert who succeeded him as host in Fox News Digital's Gabriel Hays contributed to this summary