Vince Vaughn has blasted late-night shows for having a political “agenda.”
The Wedding Crashers actor said some of America’s talk shows have lost their appeal and that hosts are lecturing their audiences instead of making them laugh.
Vince appeared on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, where he discussed the success of podcasts as an alternative to what he perceives as the declining state of late-night TV.
Highlights
- Vince Vaughn criticized late-night shows for pushing political agendas instead of focusing on comedy and authenticity.
- He believes hosts have turned late-night into the “same show” with low ratings.
- The actor identifies as a libertarian and a “believer in allowing individuals to make choices.”
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Theo said late-night shows are struggling because hosts only make fun of “white, red-neck people.”
Vince agreed, noting that many people prefer podcasts because they “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 said.
Image credits: Theo Von
According to Vince, late-night comedians don’t favor nuanced opinions and instead spread a dichotomous view of society that divides people into heroes and villains.
“They all became so about their politics and who’s good and who’s bad,” he said. “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 55-year-old added that hosts “stopped being funny” when they began trying to “evangelize” audiences into thinking like them.
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“It started feeling like I was f**king in a class I didn’t want to take,” he said. “I’m getting scolded.”
Vince concluded, “I think that talk shows, to a large part, became really agenda-based.”
While the True Detective star didn’t name any names, many interpreted his remarks as referring to Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, who have criticized President Donald Trump on many occasions.
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Vince has never appeared on Colbert’s show. His last appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! was in 2015.
Elsewhere in the podcast, the Dodgeball star was asked whether he felt “ostracized” in Hollywood.
“I always got along with people and try to be honest about who I am,” said Vince, who has identified as a libertarian and was pictured with Trump in the Oval Office last year.
“But yeah, there’s times you felt like it would’ve been easier. It’s almost like a career move.”
Image credits: Theo Von
The star clarified that he “has opinions on both sides” and emphasized that “nobody wants to be told what to do.”
In January 2025, the Actor Award nominee was spotted taking photos with fans at Trump’s Inaugural Starlight Ball.
A few months later, in April, the White House posted a photo of Vince visiting Trump in the Oval Office, accompanied by the caption “White House Crashers,” a nod to Vince’s 2005 comedy film.
Image credits: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The image, styled like a movie poster, featured the actor smiling as he stood behind the US president, who was seated.
The social media post sparked mixed reactions, with some finding the spoof funny and others expressing disappointment and calling to “cancel” Vince.
Speaking with the New York Times in 2024, Vince described himself as a libertarian and a “believer in allowing individuals to make choices.”
The Break-Up actor told the newspaper that he thinks that dr*gs and weapons should be legal.
When the interviewer told him that dr*gs and weapons aren’t exactly the same, he responded, “I’ll tell you why I think it is the same. The fear is if someone gets high, that they’re going to do something or could hurt people. Sometimes they just go to bed.
“And the fear is, if someone has a [weapon], they might hurt somebody. But sometimes they’re just hunting. We’re so shaped by our environments and where we’re from.”
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He added, “The two people that are totally opposed are so similar. I’d rather say let people make their choices, and they can make different choices and have the consequences of their choices.”
When asked whether he thinks Hollywood is too “woke” or overly concerned with political correctness, Vince stressed that people should be exposed to different ideas.
“Anyone into censorship or banning stuff — it’s never been anything I think is cool,” he said. “I don’t know anyone that feels the same at 60 that they did at 20.
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“Who the [expletive] doesn’t go through life and year after year say, ‘I was on the wrong course,’ or ‘I thought I had it figured out, but I didn’t know anything?’ I try to reflect and evolve. I know that I’m not 100% right.”
In 2020, four years before the Times interview, Vince addressed the criticism he faced after he was seen chatting and shaking hands with Trump at the College Football Playoff national championship.
“In my career I’ve met a lot of politicians who I’ve always been cordial to; I’ve met Nancy Pelosi and was cordial to her as well,” the Nonnas star told the Los Angeles Times.
“I don’t think most people take that stuff as seriously as the small percentage that’s making noise about it.”
