Jay Leno says censorship can’t change comedy: ‘If it’s really funny, all bets are off’

For Jay Leno, comedy is timeless.

“Comedy hasn’t changed. It’s exactly the same. It doesn’t change. Things come in and things go 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 would think, ‘Oh my God. … But if I showed you Buster Keaton falling off a building, that would be right too funny today than it was then. So the comedy doesn’t really change much.

JAY LENO CALLS TOM BRADY A ‘GOOD SPORT’ AFTER NETFLIX SPECIAL: ‘PEOPLE ROASTED HIM’

Leno attended the Feminist Majority Foundation’s 16th annual women’s rights gala in Los Angeles on May 14 with his wife Mavis, shortly after the Tom Brady roast.

“GROAT The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady” premiered on Netflix, and everyone from Kim Kardashian to Ben Affleck to professional comics like Nikki Glaser sparked a new conversation about culture. cancellation and comedy.

“Again, if it’s really funny, all bets are off,” Leno said. “See, the problem is only when it’s inappropriate and not funny. Then people (say), ‘Oh, now I’m offended! I’m offended because A. It’s not funny because This is inappropriate.’ Then they’ll say, “It’s inappropriate, but it’s really funny!”

Regarding 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 go.

“I’m not a big roast, it’s not something I do, but it’s just a different type of comedy, and it’s good, it’s good.”

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Leno has previously spoken about adapting to an ever-changing reaction to comedy.

In a 2021 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he suggested that he isn’t stressed about being canceled because he adjusts his material based on his audience.

“When I do a show in Utah, and they say, ‘Look, we don’t want any drug jokes, we don’t want any sex jokes. I say, ‘OK, I’ll take them out ‘,”and I’m doing something else,” he told the outlet at the time.

“With the #MeToo movement, all of a sudden, the sexist jokes that everyone was making, you can’t make them anymore. So you either change with the times or you die. You adapt to the circumstances.”

JAY LENO ON CANCEL CULTURE: “EITHER YOU CHANGE WITH TIME OR YOU DIE”

Leno has faced backlash over jokes about Asian people and culture throughout his career and issued an apology in 2021 after a report emerged that he 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 Guy Aoki, leader of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA).

“At the time I made these jokes, I honestly thought they were harmless,” the statement said, according to Variety. “I was making fun of our enemy North Korea and, like most jokes, they had a ring of truth.

“At the time, the prevailing attitude was that a group was always complaining about something, so don’t worry. Every time we received a complaint, there were two sides to the discussion. Either ‘We need to sort it out. this problem’.” or “Fuck them if they can’t take a joke.” Too often I sided with the latter, even though, deep in my heart, I knew it was wrong.

DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU READ ? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

“I apologize,” Leno added. “I do not view this particular case as another example of cancel culture but as a legitimate wrong that was committed on my part. MANAA has been very gracious in accepting my apology. I hope that the Native American community Asian will be able to accept it as such, well, and I hope I can live up to their expectations in the future.

Leno also told the Los Angeles Times that he was willing to own up to his mistakes.

“If I see someone who is really hurt by something I did, that’s not my job,” he said. “The idea is to make them laugh.”

The same year, Leno similarly spoke about cancel culture on the “People Every Day” podcast, saying, “I think it’s like anything else, you either change or you die.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He went on to compare the changes he made to his own equipment to those of an athlete adapting to new rules.

“In football there are certain rules,” the 74-year-old said. “And when the rules change, if you don’t comply, you’re out of the game.

“Now everyone has a voice,” he said. “You have to adapt 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.”‘

Lauryn Overhultz and Melissa Roberto of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.