Vince Vaughn Criticizes Late-Night Shows For Politics

by Mychal ThompsonBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffAs a junior staff writer for the Pop Culture & Celebrity News team, I write about all things pop culture, whether celebs, movies, TV, music, politics, or trending topics.If you must know, I based my entire personality on Seasons 2-5 of "Girls," and I'm a huge gamer.

You know Vince Vaughn from hilarious comedies like Wedding Crashers and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

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On a March 24 episode of Theo Von's This Past Weekend podcast, Vince criticized late-night talk shows for being "the same show" that is ultimately "agenda-based."

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In the interview, Vince didn't necessarily name a specific show or host. Yet, the current lineup of late-night shows includes The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Late Night with Seth Meyers on major broadcast networks. There are also shows like The Daily Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on premium cable.

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During the conversation, Theo and Vince discussed how comedy has become more political recently, to which Vince said, "It's part of the job because you've got to talk about current events, but you don't want to become part of a group and feel like you're a champion for one ideology. You want to make fun of everybody."

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They continued to discuss how possible virtue signaling and political correctness have affected comedy. Theo claimed Hollywood has become a place where, "It’s more like, ‘We’re smart and got it figured out, and if you don’t agree, then you’re an idiot.'” Adding there's a culture that doesn't leave room for opposing viewpoints.

This Past Weekend / youtu.be

"It's one of the reasons why I've seen a lot of the late shows have struggled," Theo said. "Because the only person they could make fun of at a certain point was just, like, white redneck kind of people. And it fucking tanked. Everything tanked after that."

This Past Weekend / youtu.be

"See, they never get it right," Vince replied. "The podcasts have gotten so much more popular with less production, less writers, less staff [...] because people want authenticity. And I think that the talk shows, to a large part, became really agenda-based."

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"They were gonna evangelical people to what they thought," Vince continued, "and so people just rejected it because it didn't feel authentic. It felt like they had an agenda. It stopped being funny, and it started feeling like I was in a fucking class I didn't want to take."

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"The phenomenon isn't what they say. They always blame technology, but the reality is it's the approach," Vince said, explaining people potentially prefer the experience of live, unfiltered comedy over edited, streaming standup specials. "Someone could go watch a standup at Madison Square Garden and they want to go 'cause it feels dangerous. The crowd is alive," he continued. "I don't want to stay home and watch on a TV, because I want to experience that live."

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To that, Vince praised podcasts but attributed late-night TV shows' declining ratings to a lack of variety. "If you look at the talk shows and why the ratings are low, it's got only to do with the fact of what you just said, which is that they all became the same show," he said. "They all became so about their politics and who's good and who's bad. Imagine sitting next to someone like that on a fucking plane. You'd be like, 'How do I get out of this fucking seat?'"

This Past Weekend / youtu.be

And Vince isn't the first celebrity to call out comedians for their oversaturated political content. In January, Conan O'Brien warned comedians who always focus on being against President Donald Trump.

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"I think some comics go the route of, 'I'm going to just say, "F Trump" all the time,' or that's their comedy," he said. "Well, now, a little bit you're being co-opted because you're so angry... You've been lulled into just saying 'F Trump. F Trump. F Trump. Screw this guy.' And I think you've now put down your best weapon, which is being funny, and you've exchanged it for anger."

The Oxford Union

Conan continued, "Any person like that would say, 'Well, things are too serious now. I don't need to be funny.' And I think, well, if you're a comedian, you always need to be funny. You just have to find a way to channel that anger, because good art will always be a perfect weapon against power, but if you're just screaming and you're just angry, you've lost your best tool in the toolbox."

The Oxford Union

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Vince or Conan? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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