Jay Leno Says Ticket Sales Increased When He Stopped Talking Politics: ‘Nobody Wants To Be Lectured’

Stand-up comedian Jay Leno said his ticket sales have significantly increased since he dropped politics from his routine.

The former host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” made the revelation during a recent appearance on “Today.”

“I’m on the road a lot. I just took politics out of it, completely. I know ticket sales are up 20, 30 percent, just because nobody wants to be lectured,” Leno told host Hoda Kotb.

He noted that touring required visiting states with more conservative voting records, which encouraged him to keep his material politically neutral — a contrast to the overtly partisan approach embraced by many current late-night hosts who came after him.

“When you’re on TV and you can play directly to your audience and there’s a laugh track. When you go to Indiana or Kentucky or any other place in the country, you’re always going to have a third of the people who don’t agree with you politically. So why even go there?” he added.

Kotb asked if comedy was “tricky” now that the temperature seems to have turned up, which Leno refuted. 

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“I don’t think it’s any trickier than any other [time]… No. You know, we’ve always had tough times,” the 75-year-old comedian replied. “It’s not that it’s better now … But stuff that used to be the law is now against the law… and that’s great.”

Leno also said he had high hopes for the future of comedy. “Yes, I’m very hopeful. I am optimistic,” he said. “‘Cause ultimately, it’s a bit like a donkey — sometimes you gotta hit it in the head with a two-by-four to get its attention, but eventually it will listen.”

This was similar to comments the former late-night host made in January. At the time, he told Piers Morgan, “I just stopped doing politics in my act all together. You know, when I did ‘The Tonight Show,’ the idea was you made fun of both sides equally … they’d both be angry. And I’d go, ‘Oh, that’s good.’ You know, they both think you’re supporting the other guy.” 

Leno added, “Now, you’ve gotta take a side and people are angry if you don’t.”