Jon Lovitz Has Beef With Late Night: ‘It’s All Political, Except for Jimmy Fallon’
“I don’t like it, I don’t like it,” gripes Jon Lovitz. What’s got a bee in the comic actor’s bonnet? It’s less of a ‘what’ and more of a ‘who’ — Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers are ruining late-night comedy, Lovitz told FOX News Digital. The problem? “Except for Jimmy Fallon, they've all become very political.”
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Once Lovitz gets a full head of steam on the topic, there’s no stopping him. "Johnny Carson would do two or three jokes about whoever was president then or what was going on then and that was it. But they were entertainment shows," he ranted before skewering his comedy pals. “I know all those guys. And they're very nice guys. Very talented. I know Seth. I know Stephen Colbert. I know Jimmy Kimmel. I think they're funny, you know. But when they started doing the political stuff, so one-sided, it's like — that's not the shows that I used to go on. You know, it was The Tonight Show and David Letterman.”
When Letterman was around, he’d tailor interviews to highlight whatever the guest wanted to do, Lovitz claims. But no more. Now it’s all about getting political and the comic doesn’t like it one bit.
“If I want the news, I’ll watch the news. I’m not watching those shows. They’re late-night entertainment, but it’s all political, except for Jimmy Fallon. And they keep getting mad at Jimmy. 'Why don’t you go into politics?’ Because he’s doing a silly escapism entertainment show.”
Colbert and company are just hammering politics to death, Lovitz complains. “They’ve become 'Here’s my political agenda.’ They’re very open about it. And I’m like, well, all right. I have no say in that. It’s their show. But I don’t particularly like that they’ve become that because where’s the comedians and the stand-up and the bits, you know, like Letterman. It was comedy.” (Even though for all his hand-wringing about how network late-night has devolved into political comedy-slinging, he doesn't acknowledge that the network he's on has perhaps the most prime 'offender:' Gutfeld!)
Lovitz got another feature segment on Fox News this week after he went after another comic, John Oliver, for his stance on U.S. aid to Israel. Lovitz doesn’t have anything personal against Oliver, he says, but because the HBO host isn’t Jewish, he doesn’t have the same fears.
Ironically, fans of Lovitz’s occasionally funny X/Twitter account might have the same criticisms. Before November of this year, he mainly used it to promote comedy shows and share old SNL clips. But Lovitz lately has fired off a barrage of angry tweets (including an incredible 41 on Sunday), sparring with other users and voicing his opinions on the situation in Israel. It’s certainly well within the comedian’s right to use his platform to get political, but, well, you know. Some people have a problem with that.
