John Oliver slams Jay Leno's late-night TV advice: ‘Hard pass'
The 'Last Week Tonight' host, 48, responded to Leno, 75, recently criticizing late-night TV hosts for alienating half their audience with one-sided political jabs.
'I'm going to take a hard pass on taking comedic advice from Jay Leno,' Oliver told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Tuesday.
9 John Oliver on 'Last Week Tonight.'
Courtesy of HBO
The British comedian also defended sometimes upsetting viewers with jokes on his show.
'Comedy can't be for everyone. It's inherently subjective,' Oliver said. 'So, yeah, when you do stand-up, some people try to play to a broader audience, which is completely legitimate. Others decide not to, which is equally legitimate.'
9 Jay Leno on 'The Tonight Show' in 2001.
AP
9 Jay Leno performs at the Orpheum Theatre in Wichita, Kansas on May 8.
Getty Images
'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,' he continued. '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.'
Oliver, who has hosted 'Last Week Tonight' since 2014, pointed out that he doesn't only discuss divisive political issues on the HBO show.
9 John Oliver during an episode of HBO's 'Last Week Tonight.'
'Our last few shows were about gang databases, AI slop, juvenile justice, med spas, air traffic control,' he said. '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,' Oliver added, 'even if you disagree on what the solution to it is.'
During his interview last month with Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation CEO David Trulio, Leno called out late-night hosts for their political talk after CBS announced it was canceling Stephen Colbert's run on 'The Late Show.'
9 Jay Leno at the opening night premiere of 'Midas Man' at the 20th Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival in June 2025.
Getty Images
'I don't understand why you would alienate one particular group, you know, or just don't do it at all,' Leno said. 'I'm not saying you have to throw your support or whatever, but just do what's funny.'
9 Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show.'
CBS
Leno also recalled how he tried to be politically neutral when he hosted 'The Tonight Show' for 21 years.
'It was fun to me when I got hate letters, '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,' he shared.
'I go, 'Well, that's good,'' Leno added. 'That's how you get a whole audience.'
9 Jay Leno interviewing John McCain on 'The Tonight Show' in 2001.
REUTERS
The Emmy Award winner said that late-night hosts today 'have to be content with half the audience because you have to give your opinion.'
'I don't think anybody wants to hear a lecture,' Leno went on. 'I love political humor, don't get me wrong, but what happens is people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other.'
9 Jay Leno attends the 20th Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival.
Getty Images
Late-night comedy was thrown into turmoil in July following CBS' decision to cancel 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.' The move has been accused of being politically motivated move since President Donald Trump won a huge election interference lawsuit against CBS' parent company Paramount just days later.
9 Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show' in 2017.
AP
Oliver said after Colbert's show was axed that the decision was 'terrible news for the world of comedy.'
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