Jay Leno, who previously helmed The Tonight Show, criticized late-night hosts whose political jokes only appeal to “half their audience.” 

During a recent interview Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, Leno said it’s important to use humor that gets the “whole audience.” He added that hosts risk losing viewers if they are seen “cozying up to one side or the other.”

“To me, I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from things, you know, the pressures of life, whatever it might be,” Leno said. “Now you have to be content with half the audience because you have to give your opinion.”

Leno recalled his friendship with Rodney Dangerfield as an example of not letting politics get in the way. “I knew Rodney 40 years and I have no idea if he was a Democrat or Republican,” Leno noted. “We never discussed politics, we just discussed jokes. I like to think that people come to a comedy show to get away from the pressures of life.”

The former host concluded by saying, “I don’t think anybody wants to hear a lecture.” He added. “I love political humor, don’t get me wrong. But it’s just what happens when people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other. Why shoot for just half an audience all the time? You know, why not try to get the whole. I mean, I like to bring people into the big picture. I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group — or just don’t do it at all. I’m not saying you have to throw your support [on one side]. But just do what’s funny.”

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Leno hosted The Tonight Show on NBC from 1992 to 2009 and again from 2010 to 2014. Jimmy Fallon took over as host in 2014. Leno’s interview was taped several weeks ago, but the comments come after the surprise cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Its network, CBS, cited financial reasons, but it is presumed that the move was political. Colbert’s fellow late-night hosts, including Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and Jimmy Kimmel, have all voiced their support for him.

David Letterman, who hosted The Late Show from its inception in August 1993, called the cancellation “gutless.” “This is pure cowardice,” Letterman told former Late Show producers Barbara Gaines and co-host Mary Barclay in the video. “You’re telling me 60 Minutes, the pinnacle of journalistic excellence and integrity for decades … they decided, ‘Aw, we’re sorry, let us give you $20 million.’ I believe this is in the wake of that.”