John Oliver Blasts Jay Leno’s Take on Political Comedy

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver has shown that he isn't interested in taking former TV host Jay Leno's advice when it comes to comedy.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, August 5, Oliver was asked about the idea that late-night television should be broad and unifying. The question came in response to Leno’s recent criticism of talk show hosts for “alienating” their audiences.

Oliver quickly responded with, "I’m going to take a hard pass on taking comedic advice from Jay Leno."

The British comedian, 48, went on to say, "Comedy can't be for everyone. It's inherently subjective."

"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,” continued the former Daily Show correspondent.

Leno, 75, had spoken at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute on July 27. "You have to be content with half the audience because you have to give your opinion," the former Tonight Show host said, adding, "I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group."

Leno’s criticism of political comedy—and Oliver’s sharp dismissal of it—comes amid the recent cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a program known for its strong political focus.

Despite rumors swirling around the reasoning behind canceling The Late Show, it was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night... Not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount," CBS said in a statement about the cancellation.

As Colbert's colleague, Oliver has remained vocal about his disapproval over The Late Show's cancellation. In the same interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Oliver said, "As soon as the news broke, we were all checking in with Stephen... You want to be able to support him and his staff in a horrible, horrible time."