Jay Leno says censorship can’t change comedy: ‘If it’s really funny, all bets are off’
The former ‘Tonight Show' host said comedy 'doesn't change'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For Jay Leno, comedy is timeless.
"Comedy hasn’t changed. It's exactly the same thing. It doesn’t change. Things come in and out," the former "Tonight Show" host told Fox News Digital.
"If I showed you a Rudolph Valentino movie from the '20s, you wouldn't think it was sexy. You'd think, 'Oh my God. … But if I showed you Buster Keaton falling off a building, it would be just as funny now as it was then. So, comedy doesn't really change a whole lot."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}JAY LENO CALLS TOM BRADY A 'GOOD SPORT' AFTER NETFLIX SPECIAL: 'PEOPLE JUST ROASTED HIM'
Jay Leno, with wife Mavis, told Fox News Digital, "Comedy hasn’t changed. It’s exactly the same thing. It doesn’t change. Things come in and out." (Nina Zacuto)
Leno attended the Feminist Majority Foundation's 16th Annual Global Women's Rights Awards & Gala in Los Angeles May 14 with wife Mavis shortly after the Tom Brady roast.
"GROAT The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady" aired on Netflix, and everyone from Kim Kardashian to Ben Affleck to professional comics like Nikki Glaser sparked renewed conversation about cancel culture and comedy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Again, if it's really funny, all bets are off," Leno said. "See, the trouble is only when it's inappropriate and not funny. Then people [go], 'Oh, now I'm offended! I'm offended because A. It's not funny because it's inappropriate.' Then they'll go, 'It's inappropriate, but it's really funny!'"
Specific to the roast, Leno praised Glaser, saying, "she killed me. She was really funny. A lot of people might say it's inappropriate, but if it's really funny, it makes it OK.
"I’m not big roast person, it’s not something I do, but it’s just a different kind of comedy, and it’s fine, it’s good."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Leno said if something's "really funny, all bets are off." (Greg Doherty/Getty Images for Byron Allen/Allen Media Group)
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Leno has spoken previously about adapting to an ever-evolving reaction to comedy.
In a 2021 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he suggested he wasn’t stressed at the idea of being canceled because he adjusts his material based on his audience.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When I do a gig in Utah, and they’ll go, ‘Look, we don’t want any drug jokes, we don’t want any sex jokes. I go, ‘OK, I’ll take those out,’ and I do something else," he told the outlet at the time.
"With the #MeToo movement, all of a sudden the sexist jokes everybody used to do, you can’t do anymore. So you either change with the times or you die. You adapt to the circumstances."
In the past, Leno said, "You either change with the times or you die. You adapt to the circumstances" when it comes to comedy and cancel culture. (Gail Schulman/CBS via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Leno did face some backlash over jokes about Asian people and culture throughout his career and issued an apology in 2021 after a report came out that he had made a joke about Koreans eating dog meat during the taping of a segment of NBC’s "America’s Got Talent."
He later issued an apology in a joint press release with Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) leader Guy Aoki.
"At the time I did those jokes, I genuinely thought them to be harmless," the statement said, according to Variety. "I was making fun of our enemy North Korea, and, like most jokes, there was a ring of truth to them.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"At the time, there was a prevailing attitude that some group is always complaining about something, so don’t worry about it. Whenever we received a complaint, there would be two sides to the discussion. Either ‘We need to deal with this’ or ‘Screw ‘em if they can’t take a joke.’ Too many times, I sided with the latter even when in my heart I knew it was wrong.
Leno issued an apology for past jokes about Asians in 2021. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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"I am issuing this apology," Leno added. "I do not consider this particular case to be another example of cancel culture but a legitimate wrong that was done on my part. MANAA has been very gracious in accepting my apology. I hope that the Asian American community will be able to accept it as well, and I hope I can live up to their expectations in the future."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Leno also told the Los Angeles Times he’s willing to own up to mistakes.
"If I see somebody who’s really hurt by something I did, that’s not my job," he said. "The idea is to get them to laugh."
That same year, Leno spoke similarly about cancel culture on the "People Every Day" podcast, saying, "I think it's like any other thing, you either change or die."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Leno said when it comes to comedy, "you either change or die." (John Lamparski/WireImage)
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He continued, comparing changes he’s made to his own material to that of an athlete adapting to new rules.
"In football, you have certain rules," the 74-year-old said. "And when the rules change, if you don't conform to them, you're out of the game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Now, everybody has a voice," he said. "You have to change the material to the times you live in."
"My attitude is, ‘Look, these are the new rules,’" Leno added. "You want to adapt. If you don't, fine. Don't get up and tell jokes then."'
Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz and Melissa Roberto contributed to this report.