Vince Vaughn is speaking out about the current state of late-night television, arguing that many shows have become too politically driven and less entertaining.
During an appearance on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, the 55-year-old actor said late-night hosts have shifted away from comedy and toward pushing specific viewpoints.
Referring to late-night figures?
“They never get it right,” Vaughn said. “I think that talk shows, to a large part, became really agenda-based.”
He continued, “They were going to [evangelize] people to what they thought. You know what I mean? And so people just rejected it because it didn’t feel authentic. It felt like they had an agenda.”
Vaughn also argued that this shift has hurt the genre’s appeal, saying shows “stopped being funny” once they leaned too heavily into political commentary.
“It started feeling like I was f—king in a class I didn’t want to take,” he added. “I’m getting scolded.”
While he didn’t directly name anyone, his comments were widely interpreted as referring to late-night figures like Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, both known for their criticism of Donald Trump.
The conversation began when Von suggested that late-night shows struggle because they target a narrow audience. Vaughn agreed, saying viewers are turning to podcasts instead because “people want authenticity.”
“If you look at what happened to the talk shows and why their ratings are low, it’s got only to do with the fact of what you just said, which is they all became the same show,” he explained.
“And they all became so about their politics and who’s good and who’s bad,” Vaughn added, joking, “And it’s like, imagine sitting next to someone like that on a f—king plane. You’d be like, bro, how do I get out of this f—king seat?”
The Wedding Crashers star, who has previously identified as a libertarian, said he holds mixed views and doesn’t fully align with either side politically.
“There’s s—t I don’t agree with at all, and then there’s s—t I don’t agree with at all,” he said, emphasizing that “nobody wants to be told what to do.”
Trump handshake
Vaughn has occasionally drawn attention for his political associations, including meeting Trump at the White House and attending events tied to him.
Still, he has said he values open dialogue and believes people should be free to form their own opinions.
In 2020, Vince Vaughn faced criticism after he was spotted shaking hands with Donald Trump at a Louisiana State football game. After the moment sparked backlash, Vaughn addressed the encounter in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“It was the only time I’ve ever met him. We said hello. He was very personable. I didn’t get into policies,” he said.
“I don’t have a party that I support and endorse. In fact, for me sometimes it’s difficult to find a candidate that you feel is philosophically consistent and not just going along with whoever is funding their particular party. That’s as much as I’ll get into it at this point.”
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