Jay Leno was asked about the Bill Cosby allegations at an event this week and was somehow able to talk about it without talking about it. The former host of The Tonight Show instead went into how great it is that comedy can go unfiltered and trigger a meaningful discussion, as did the Hannibal Buress set that started the allegations in motion.
“Hannibal Buress started it. He’s a stand-up comedian and he made a flat-out statement that reverberated around the world. If that had been on television, it would have been edited. But because somebody would put the news out raw and unfiltered — which I think is fantastic — it was a great thing.”
He compared the situation to the raw footage of the Rodney King beating, which Leno feels spurred the change for more honest discussion about uncomfortable subjects, saying that until that tape was shown on the news, a story like that one would have to be “filter[ed]… to suit sponsors.” He added: “Now comedy cuts through all the bullsh*t.” Heck yeah, it does!
But upon being asked about the Cosby allegations, Leno was quoted as saying the situation was “sad,” and then veered quickly to a side street to avoid directly commenting on the conversation:
“I don’t know why it’s so hard to believe women,” he responded. “You go to Saudi Arabia, you need two women to testify against a man. Here you need 25.”
He makes a good point, about this and about how comedy can be a powerful medium for having a conversation. But that’s it? Jay Leno played it safe on TV for years, telling basic jokes for a basic audience. And now he’s free as a bird, talking about the benefits of no-holds-barred comedy and all he can offer up is “sad”? With Leno’s decades of experience as a standup, he must have run in the same circles as Cosby. If you’re disgusted and appalled, Jay, now is the time to say so — because you said so.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
