Legendary late-night host Jay Leno is voicing his frustration with today’s crop of late-night personalities, criticizing the constant stream of one-sided political commentary that has dominated the major networks for the past decade.
Leno, who helmed The Tonight Show for two decades before stepping down in 2014, recently sat down with Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation President and CEO David Trulio. Now 75, Leno reflected on why audiences consistently gravitated toward his show, and why he believes the current late-night lineup is struggling with steadily declining ratings.
“I read that there was an analysis done of your work on ‘The Tonight Show’ for the 22 years and that your jokes were roughly equally balanced between going after Republicans and taking aim at Democrats. Did you have a strategy?” Trulio noted.
“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, adding, “And I go, ’Well, that’s good,’ That’s how you get a whole audience.”
Ultimately, Leno concluded that the rise of hyper-partisan politics has diverted the genre far away from what made it a staple for millions of American households until the 2010s. “Now you have to be content with half the audience because you have [to] give your opinion,” he said.
Leno has spoken before about the impact of partisan politics on the late-night talk show landscape. In a 2019 interview with the Today show, he said that while he enjoyed his time as a host, he doesn’t “miss” the role—citing the increasingly divisive political climate as a key reason.
“I don’t miss it. You know, everything now is, if people don’t like your politics, they — everyone has to know your politics,” Leno told the Today show. “When people see you as one-sided, it just makes it tough.” He added: “And plus, I did it when, you know, Clinton was horny and Bush was dumb, and it was just a little easier.”
Leno’s latest remarks follow news that CBS will be ending Stephen Colbert’s late-night show this coming May. Not only is Colbert stepping away, but the program itself will be canceled after decades on the air. Network executives cited soaring production costs and the steady decline in traditional TV viewership as key reasons for the decision.
