Why Jay Leno Thinks Politics In Comedy Is A Recipe For Disaster

The former late night giant's comments come amid questions about if "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert's program was canceled for political reasons.

Jay Leno thinks comedy has gotten too political for its own good.

During an interview with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute that came out on Sunday, the former host of “The Tonight Show” explained why he thinks leaning too far to the left or to the right has put comics in what he said was “not a very good situation.”

While Leno said he wasn’t opposed to a political punchline, he told the foundation’s president, former Lockheed Martin executive David Trulio, that these days, comics risk alienating their audience by having too much of an ideological bent.

“I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from things, you know, the pressures of life or whatever it may be,” he said. “And 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.”

“I don’t think anybody wants to hear a lecture,” he added.