I wouldn’t call myself a long-time Vince Vaughn fan or VV watcher, but I have been well aware of his stupid politics for many years. In fact, his politics were one of the reasons why I stopped being a fan of his work. Vaughn is not self-proclaimed MAGA, but last year, he went to the Trump White House and did a photo-op with that fascist pig. Previously, Vaughn has claimed to be libertarian and he’s claimed that he doesn’t get into politics – spoken like a privileged white man who supports Donald Trump. All of this is backstory for Vince Vaughn’s comments on Theo Von’s podcast, where Vaughn spoke about why so many late-night shows are crumbling.
Vince Vaughn isn’t a big fan of the direction of late night talk shows in recent years when it comes to politics. The actor and producer made an appearance on a new episode of Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, where he criticized the programs for becoming “the same show” that are “really agenda-based.”
While Vaughn didn’t name any shows or comedians specifically, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon are some of the current late night hosts who are known to get quite political and criticize President Donald Trump on their respective shows.
“A lot of the late shows have struggled,” Von initially pointed out. “Because the only person they could make fun of at a certain point was just like white redneck kind of people. And it f–king tanked [ratings].”
The Wedding Crashers star agreed with the podcaster, adding, “See, they never get it right. The podcasts have gotten so much more popular with less production, less writers [and] less staff, because people want authenticity. And I think that the talk shows, to a large part, became really agenda-based.”
“They were gonna evangelize people to what they thought,” he 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 f–king class I didn’t want to take.”
Vaughn attributed late night show’s declining ratings to them “all [becoming] the same show. However, changing viewing habits and competition from digital platforms have also contributed to the significant drops in viewership. “They all became so about their politics and who’s good and who’s bad,” the Couples Retreat actor added. “Imagine sitting next to someone like that on a fcking plane. You’d be like, how do I get out of this fcking seat?”
The thing is, there’s one legitimate point being made buried underneath all of the bullsh-t. That point? The late-show framework of “a white male host telling political jokes to the audience” has sort of outlived its usefulness overall, especially with younger viewers. Maybe I’m giving Vince too much credit by trying to finesse that argument out of what he said though – Vince is actually just arguing that people are tuning out because Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert are being mean to a dementia-addled fascist. Someone call the waaaambulance, the man on the TV is being mean to my favorite orange predator!! Honestly though, it’s not that late-show hosts are wrong or bad to talk about politics, it’s that the politics themselves are toxic and evil under Trump. How can comedians even try to process what to say when Border Patrol agents murder citizens in the street, or Trump blows up the economy and starts a bunch of dumbass wars for no f–king reason?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, White House Instagram.
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- UNIVERSAL CITY, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – SEPTEMBER 08: American actor Vince Vaughn arrives at the Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights Opening Night Celebration 2022 held at Universal Studios Hollywood on September 8, 2022 in Universal City, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 720931976, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Vince Vaughn, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- Vince Vaughn attends the red carpet for the ‘Easy’s Waltz’ premiere during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall. on September 11, 2025 in Toronto, Canada.,Image: 1036399662, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Leonardo Ramirez / Alto Press/Avalon
I can’t stand that man.
Yeah, he plays the same exact character in every film. I really don’t see the appeal in him.
Late night talk shows are topical and political and funny, which is a hard reach these days. Vince can be quiet because he is adding nothing!
Linear television as a format is being replaced by other forms of media. We all know this. But what Vince is ignoring – deliberately – in his comments is the fact that with YouTube, the ratings of Kimmel, Colbert, and Meyers are still strong. Their viewership is just not being tracked in a way that is perceived to help the old big 3 networks. And the only people that find those 3 shows unfunny are the people who are on side with the fascists.
Well, one gets the face they deserve, don’t they
Yeah. He can pack for his trip to hell in those bags under his eyes!
Yep. Not aging well at all.
Wow. He looks awful.
Yeah? When was the last time you were popular, Vince? About 20 years ago?
Yep. And that was with Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman and countless others propping him up in movies. And there was that short-lived whatever the hell that was, with Jennifer Aniston that got him attention for awhile.
Late night talk shows and their hosts are one of the few things keeping me sane right now!
I don’t usually chime in with whatever I think about celebrities and their views when it comes to politics, partly because I want to keep my energy for actually helping causes I believe in, but Vince can f**k right off into oblivion. Put him on the next space capsule.
That is where I’m at. Someone piping up and saying “this isn’t normal” is kinda necessary right now. Which is why they are working so hard to shut these hosts up.
The bigger issue, from what I can tell from my non expert pov, is that young people are tuning into tik tok or YouTube more than late night. And that’s one reason why Fallon, although not having the highest ratings, does okay bc his bits translate well to tik tok and YT and he gets additional views on those platforms. It’s much more that than anything having to do with politics.
Spot on, Jais.
I’m old enough to remember Johnny Carson making political jokes. Carson made no effort to censor comedians appearing on his show that would take a swipe at a politician. Robin Williams absolutely skewed Ronald Reagan once on The Tonight Show and Carson cold not stop laughing.
Speaking of Johnny Carson, a possible reason for declining ratings may be that in Carson’s day there was one late-night king for easy watching, whereas now there are three – all of them white males. And as Jais noted, people are watching YT the next day at a more convenient time. Maybe late-night viewing decline is a corollary of a populace seeking more healthful habits, like reducing their drinking. Notice I’ve posited alternative theories here as possible causes, rather than making an untested definitive statement like the star of the ‘Psycho’ remake who clearly has “an agenda.”
@kirk,
In the days of Johnny Carson, there were multiple other late night shows. Merv Griffin (his biggest competition), Joey Bishop, and Dick Cavett all of them in the 60’s and 70’s and in the 80’s there was Joan Rivers on Fox, Arsenio Hall, and a variety of other shows that failed. Not to mention David Letterman, while on a little later, was the choice of the younger generation. And politics has always been a factor in late night talk shows, I’m not sure where Vince was pulling this so called information from, but it certainly wasn’t history.
@Robert Wright – well aware that Johnny Carson had late-night talk show “competition”, but he dominated for ~30 years. Which is why I referred to him as the “late-night king for easy watching.” Cavett was a completely different flavor. Merv wasn’t always a direct major competitor, sometimes he had different time slot, and he ran fewer years and episodes than Johnny. Merv’s late-night market share was ~half of Johnny’s. So not really sure what your point is here. Are you trying to educate me?
Trump gives a press conference and says something stupid. Later that same day, Seth Meyers repeats Trump’s exact comments and says, boy is he stupid. There’s no parody or satire, it’s just a recap. The formula is tired and all it does it keep Trump in the news.
This guy always gave me the creeps.
What? Seth is hilarious. You just don’t have a sense of humor.
And what’s the reason for your lack of popularity lol
This guy is such a tool. Not surprised he is a Trumper.
People often turn to tv to get away from politics – if I wanted to watch the news, I’d watch the news. I don’t want a recap of the news. I want clever, funny, original content if I’m not watching the news. These days when we get news alerts on our phones, when we all check or watch the actual news, read the news – I don’t want to listen to someone in Hollywood’s opinion on current events for the most part. I want a break.
OK Vince… another right wing has-been trying to get into the daily feeds by chirping in support of the Orange Rapist.
I loved him in Clay Pigeons, but it was downhill from there.
I can’t stand this man. Personally I don’t understand why he is getting jobs, he’s a shit actor, he always plays the same dumb character. And he is in no way pleasant to look at. Ugly inside and out.
To him I say STFU!!!!!!!
I hate to agree with VV but we had missed opportunities with shows like Nightly with Larry Wilmore. People are going online to find the DIVERSITY that you can’t find in more expensive programs. Josh Johnson was a great Tiktok find
I can’t imagine if there was a picture of a parent or a grandparent with Trump for future generations to see in my bloodline. It would be such a source of shame or embarrassment, like discovering a grandparent was a nazi.
We’re finding out in real time who people are at their core. Who would have hidden Anne Frank? Who would have blown a whistle for her? Who would have risked arrest to protect her? Who would have called the goons to come get her with her location? Who would go about their day after witnessing people be dragged away to focus on more positive things?
We have all our answers now. We are all paying attention. This is what I love about the Internet. It’s forever. So when when this is over and people try to backpedal here comes the Internet with 1000 receipts so they can own their hatred and choke on it.
Thank you Side Eye, such a thoughtful response. People are showing their ass and we must pay attention. I’ll never forget Meryl Streep’s beautiful speech when she received GG Cecil B Demille award. ( if you haven’t seen it I strongly advise you go to YouTube)
She rebukes Trump so perfectly without ever uttering his name. At one point the camera cuts to Vaughn and he looks like he’s sucking a lemon. I’ll never forgive him that moment. I felt so aligned with my fellow/man and his face was like a bucket of ice cold water. I’ll never support a thing he does.
Thank you Jenny! I love that you brought up that speech! It made me love Meryl even more. Yes, she pinpoints the exact moment Trump would have ended his political (and business) career anywhere else in the world – when he mocked a reporter’s disability. This would have ended him in Canada. It would have been swift and immediate. He went on to become the president of the US. This is still astounding to me as I never got past that one thing.
The interaction with the reporter sums up perfectly who Trump is. And over 70 million people went to the polls and said that’s our guy. No wonder nothing can be done about assault riffles or healthcare – you have a third of the country that literally identifies with this sociopath – this malignant narcissist – this stain on humanity – a fucking festering boil on top of an infected wound. And another third of the country “not doing politics” not voting, not caring their rights are disappearing. All the commentary pointing out Harris’ perceived or imagined deficiencies ignores the fact that a dead cat would have been a better option than Trump.
And yes I remember the camera cutting to Vince’s sour face. I am absolutely done supporting him anything he is in I avoid like the plague. As for Meryl I support everything she is in! I love her in OMITB and she is a great example of using one’s voice and privilege for good in the world.
A different elle from the one above. The late-note hosts are the only media taking the Dump admin to task, and I applaud them.
I’ve always liked Seth Meyers, used to watch DL Hugely when he was on cable. I appreciate their intelligent satire on current events. I started watching Jimmy Kimmel when he came back from being forced off air and I love him so much. I can no longer stomach watching the news, but I check certain decent online sites for daily news updates and then watch Jimmy Kimmel every night for his opening monologue. It’s the only way I can handle “politics” anymore. So Trump’s tantrums created a new loyal daily viewer of Jimmy Kimmel. I love that too.
Isn’t he pals with Mel Gibson? Ick.
He sure got hella wrinkled, I’m happy to say.
Oh sheesh I hate it when a Hollywood type unhinges their jaw to say something incorrect. Late night shows have always skewered politicians helllooo Johnny Carson, Leno, Letterman, Arsenio all did a bit about “what’s going on right now, well the President …….”.
Couple that with cable cord cutting starting a decade ago, people are no longer watching live tv at 11:35pm, just catching it on YouTube later.
Please stfu Vince and go find a toner followed by a serum with aloe and niacinamide, then moisturizer. If you’re gonna make us look at you, at least f*#king presentable.
Yikes! This guy really got the face he deserves huh!
Ugh, Vince Vaughn. I would ride into battle behind Jimmy Kimmel or Stephen Colbert.