Jay Leno on late-night TV: 'I don't miss it'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this Aug. 13, 2015, file photo, Jay Leno participates in the "Jay Leno's Garage" panel at the The NBCUniversal Summer TCA Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. A television crew filmed Lenoâs Stanley steam-powered car driving the auto road to the summit of New Hampshireâs Mount Washington this week. He told the Portland Press Herald that the idea was to recreate the first time a Stanley drove up the mountain in 1899. (AP)
In a new interview with Closer Weekly, former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, stated that he has been living a pretty good life since leaving the show.
“I don’t miss it,” he revealed to Closer. “It was great fun but I have no regrets [about leaving].”
Since Leno left his coveted late-night position in 2009, the former host helped to pave the way for a new generation of late-night leaders. But the 67-year-old told Closer that due to the change in times from when he worked in late night, he believes that working in the industry now is a lot harder.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It was a different time [before] all this negative stuff,” Leno explained.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Leno told the magazine that late night had taken a “depressing” turn.
“It’s all depressing Trump stuff,” Leno said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Trump news isn’t the only thing Leno said today’s late-night hosts have honed in on.
Jay Leno with NBC talk show host, Jimmy Fallon. (Reuters)
“The trouble is that there's such negativity now. When I did the show, Bush was dumb and Clinton was horny and it was human problems. Now it's all anti-women, anti-LGBT, anti-Muslim, anti-Mexican, anti-Salvadoran; it's such a negative thing.”
While Leno said he admired today's top hosts such as Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Myers for “making [late night] funny," ultimately, he finds "it's depressing.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Today, Leno has combined his love of cars with his love of hosting for his CNBC series “Jay Leno’s Garage.”
When asked by The Hollywood Reporter is he would ever revisit television with a streaming hosting special like the former host, David Letterman, Leno said he wanted to remain focused on the work he was doing now.
“Not really. I like what I'm doing,” Leno said. “To me, I like talking to regular people and seeing what I can draw out of them. I'm sure Dave will be excellent, he always does a good show.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But despite slowing down, Leno made it clear to Closer that he was nowhere near retirement. “I’ll wait until I have my stroke. That’s when I’ll retire.”