In a fascinating display of self-pity and hubris, Jay Leno went on Oprah today and really let loose: He said that the plan to return Read the full post.
Jan 28
2010
04:55 PM ET
Jay Leno on 'Oprah': Admits to lying, ridicules Conan's 'Tonight Show': This is damage control?
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Does Putz accurately describe Jay Leno? I think a comedienne described the difference between Jay & Dave. Jay is someone is the boss always smiling, joking around with you, saying he is your friend but will stab you in the back to get ahead. Dave is moody, not exactly friendly, someone who will tell you when he is in a bad mood but when your back is against the wall he is the first to go to bat for you.
i’m pretty sure that that was patton oswalt.
Thanks luluvoodoo!
Just when I thought I couldn’t dislike Jay Leno any more, this interview comes out. Wow.
You can’t have this type of incident happen twice and expect to keep looking like an innocent bystander. NBC loves Jay Leno to the point where they kicked two funny men to the curb for him. If there is any doubt the NBC didn’t set Conan up to fail from the start just look at the fact that they didn’t even give Conan the tonight show set which had been the same set for decades.
At some point, EW, you’re going to have to move on and let this stuff go.
Judging by how many people have commented on it, I think you are wrong.
Maggie you are right, they are all wrong. They all act if stupidity were a virtue
YOU GO OPRAH!!!! Great interview! Jay’s a WORM. Making a joke about Letterman is fine. Taking after Letterman’s WIFE??? CLASSLESS!!! I loathe Jay now.
Ned brings up a very good point. Leno had no problem continually bringing up the fact that Conan’s ratings sucked, yet it was because Conan had one of the weakest lead-ins in TV history. That’s all on you, Mr. Leno. Oprah was almost Team Conan. She was really tough on Leno. She asked him at least five times if he felt bad for taking Conan’s chance away. She pretty much called him out when she asked him why didn’t he just do what Conan did and take the buy-out and have NBC take care of his staff,
too.
And to bring up Conan’s ratings after he’s gone?? Classless.
I’m glad this interview revealed Jay Leno as the slimy backstabbing snake that he is.
Eh, if you watched her post-show she’s actually more Team Jay; she did a very good job of hiding it, though. I think on a moral, “am I a good person?” level what Jay did was kind of shady. I don’t think he’s as passive as he’s making himself seem. And, I think Patton Oswalt is right, he’s the guy who wants to win but doesn;t know why he wants to..He wants the job but he’s never really been able to communicate effectively why he loves it so much, even on Oprah, while Conan has, so he obviously loses some sympathy points.
This is seriously going to hurt him and his attempt at getting hie ratings back up to par when he returns on 3/1/10. I’m thinking if his ratings are not up in 90 days, he’s done but I feel so sorryfor their back-up plan…Jimmy Fallon and heard he might be on a tight leash himself as his one year contract is up in March. I say cancel Fallon and Daly and the Poker Show while you’re at it and completely revamp late night at NBC.
I agree with the previous comment about knowing where you stand with Dave Letterman. During the writers’ strike, while Leno’s writers were out picketting, Leno continued to work and write his own jokes. Letterman PAID his writers from his own production company, which is essentially, his own pocket.
- Oprah thinks the public “doesn’t understand how television works.”
- Where was Jay’s wedding ring?
- Jay thinks Conan’s show should have gotten better ratings. What about the affiliates’ rating during their newscasts? They dropped. Were all of THEIR shows that bad that ALL of their ratings dropped?
I read somewhere that Philadelphia’s newscast dropped 48% (!!). That’s not on Leno? Please.
I’m no fan of Oprah’s, but props to her for asking the tough questions and showing up Leno for the tool he is.
Keep digging Jay, your pile of crap keeps growing larger. What a schmuck.
What I still don’t get is if Jay Leno felt devastated in 2004 – why didn’t he fight for his job then. In my mind he’s every bit as culpable as NBC for the mess of the situation. If he had been honest with himself and with NBC back then, this mess could have been avoided. Also, I find it incredibly disingenuous of him to act as if he “had” to take back the Tonight Show. Jay, you could have said “No. That’s Conan’s show now.” Admit that you never wanted to give up the show in 2004, 2009, and now in 2010.
Leno said, “They only offered [The Tonight Show] to me after Conan had turned down [the 12:05 offer].” This DID ring true, actually. Conan was going to keep the Tonight Show (but at 12:05), but they were going to move Jay’s CURRENT show to 11:35. Then when Conan said “no way,” they decided to keep The Tonight Show at 11:35, and give it back to Jay.
Yeah, Jay was a big whiny whiner. And I call BS that he gets by on what he makes doing stand-up, and funnels all his TV earnings into his foundation. Did your foundation pay for all of those cars, Jay? Because your stand-up pay sure couldn’t.
I think Jay’s being a bit disingenous regarding what he thought or didn’t think. However I still think the blame lies with NBC first for asking Jay to step down in 2004, then for giving him The Tonight Show V2.0 10pm Mon to Fri.
And Jay Leno once again proves himself to be a hypocritical, self-serving boor. This is the worst damage control I have seen, although not surprising. Good for Oprah re: not letting him off so easily.