Libertarian actor Vince Vaughn took a shot at late-night comedians this week, citing how their content has become too politically driven.
Vaughn, 55, appeared on Tuesday’s episode of “This Past Weekend,” where he and host Theo Von discussed how late-night comics have decided to make fun of certain demographics, while declaring others off-limits.
“A lot of the late shows have struggled,” Theo began. “The only person they could make fun of at a certain point was just, like, white redneck kind of people,” which caused the ratings to “tank.”
Vaughn, who has starred in such films as “Old School,” “Wedding Crashers,” “Dodgeball,” “Swingers,” “Dragged Across Concrete,” and “Hacksaw Ridge,” immediately agreed.
“They never get it right,” he said. “The podcasts have gotten so much more popular, with less production, less writers, less staff.”
“People want authenticity,” he added. “And I think that the talk shows, to a large part, became really agenda-based. They were going to [evangelize] people into what they thought, you know what I mean?”
“And so people just rejected it, because it didn’t feel authentic,” the actor explained. “It felt like they had an agenda. It stopped being funny, and it started feeling like I was in a … class I didn’t want to take.”
Later in the episode, they revisited the topic, with Vaughn saying, “But if you look at what happened to the talk shows, and why their ratings are low, it’s got only to do with the fact of what you just said, which is, they all became the same show.”
“And they all became so about their politics and who’s good, and who’s bad. And it’s like, imagine sitting next to someone like that on a … plane.”
The trend of cable news and late-night comedy shows tanking in the ratings is nothing new. It hit a new level of partisanship, however, after President Donald Trump assumed office, got indicted, and made his comeback in 2024.
Many have criticized late-night comedy hosts for their smug, one-sided delivery and condescending demeanor.
They’ve also received public criticism for acting like they have geopolitical credentials, when in fact, many of them are simply actors who are tasked with making us laugh, not preaching about global events.
The ratings, and reality, reflect this.
Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” is being taken off the air. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel almost got the ax permanently for his comments about Charlie Kirk shortly after the conservative commentator was assassinated, and NBC’s “Tonight Show” is a far cry from the Johnny Carson and Jay Leno days.
“I think one of the dangers if you are a comedian, which basically I am, is that if you start to take yourself too seriously and start to comment on social issues, your sense of humor suffers somewhere,” Carson told Barbara Walters back in 1984.
He added, “Some critics have said that our show doesn’t have great sociological value, it’s not controversial, it’s not deep. But ‘The Tonight Show’ basically is designed to amuse people. To make them laugh.”
Comic and actor Ricky Gervais famously roasted Hollywood on this topic during the 2020 Golden Globes. He shamed the industry for thinking their personal opinions mattered to the public.
“If ISIS started a streaming service, you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you? So if you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech,” he said.
“You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything,” Gervais proclaimed. “You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg.”
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
