NEED TO KNOW
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John Oliver said in a new interview that he will “take a hard pass” on taking advice from Jay Leno
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On July 27, Leno suggested late-night comedians were alienating part of their audience with political jokes
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Political humor on television came under a microscope after CBS canceled Stephen Colbert’s Late Night amid Paramount’s merger with Skydance, although CBS said it was a “financial decision”
There’s at least one comedian John Oliver won’t take advice from: Jay Leno.
When The Hollywood Reporter brought up Leno’s recent suggestion that some late-night comedians were alienating “half an audience” with their political humor in light of CBS canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Oliver had a blunt response.
“I’m going to take a hard pass on taking comedic advice from Jay Leno,” the Last Week Tonight host, 48, told the outlet in an interview published on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
“Comedy can’t be for everyone,” Oliver, whose show has won 30 Primetime Emmys since debuting on HBO in 2014, told THR. “It’s inherently subjective.”
Jamie McCarthy/Getty
John Oliver in May 2024
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Oliver said it was “completely legitimate” for some standup comedians to try to appeal to a broad audience, but also legitimate for some to do the opposite.
“I guess I don’t think it’s a question of what you should do because I don’t think comedy is prescriptive in that way,” Oliver explained. “It’s just what people want. I think our show clearly comes from a point of view, but most of those long stories we do are not party political.”
“They’re about systemic issues,” the former Daily Show correspondent continued. “Our last few shows were about gang databases, AI slop, juvenile justice, med spas, air traffic control. I’m not saying that these don’t have a point of view in them. Of course they do. But I hope a lot of them actually reach across people’s political persuasions. You want people to at least be able to agree on the problem, even if you disagree on what the solution to it is.”
On July 27, Leno, 75, said at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute that although he loves political humor, he tried not to turn off half his audience during his years as The Tonight Show’s host.
“Why shoot for 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,” Leno said. “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.”
Leno went on to say that he enjoyed getting hate mail from both Republican and Democratic viewers because that meant he got a “whole” audience. “[Nowadays], you have to be content with half the audience because you have to give your opinion,” he said.
Monica Schipper/Getty
Jay Leno in November 2023
The very future of late-night television came under a microscope on July 17, when CBS surprisingly canceled Stephen Colbert’s show, despite its popularity. The timing led to speculation that the decision was tied to politics, as CBS’ parent company, Paramount, sought approval from the Trump administration for its merger with entertainment company Skydance. The FCC approved the merger on July 25.
Earlier in July, CBS also reached a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump. The president sued CBS News, accusing 60 Minutes of deceptively editing an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign.
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In a statement, CBS said that the Late Show’s cancellation was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Since Colbert’s firing, his colleagues have shown their support. Oliver joined Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper on the July 21 Late Night episode. Jimmy Kimmel has also shown his support on social media.
“Well, we’ve been in contact as a group since the strike… so as soon as the news broke, we were all checking in with Stephen in that chat and then he came up with the idea and asked us to come, and of course we’re all going to do it,” Oliver told THR. “You want to be able to support him and his staff in a horrible, horrible time.”
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