Jay Leno must be the patient type, since the late-night host is waiting until "things cool down" before talking to his former colleague Conan O'Brien. During a taping of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Tuesday, Leno was open and honest with Oprah about his relationship with Conan through all of the NBC drama: he hasn't reached out to CoCo, and the feeling seems mutual.
Jay also admitted that it "hurt" to hear Conan take shots at him, but that it was simply part of the business: "it's like being a fighter and say when you got punched in the head, did it hurt? Well, yeah. But you're a fighter. That's what you do.”
Jay was fairly polite to Conan while the contract dispute with NBC was going down, telling his viewers that his colleague was a "good family man" who was put in a tough situation. Leno admitted during a long monologue that it was never his plan to move to 10:00, but he was simply doing what he was told. The same goes for now, when NBC asked him to return to 11:35 following the local news. So Conan O'Brien is now out of a job, but Jay claims it was not through any actions of his own.
Jay Leno's full interview with Oprah will air on Thursday; here's to hoping that Conan films one in the near future. As always, let me know your thoughts below and stay tuned for more news.
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Comments
I've always liked Leno, always thought he was a classy person. This interview proves it. It would have been really easy to stoop to the level everyone else was at during that time, but he didnt.
How Passive Aggressive. Leno's actions are so far beyond pathetic it barely warrants comment.
Unfortunately for Mr. Leno and his bosses at NBC, this story just won't go away. And their endless explanations don't seem to help much, either.
For any readers too young to recall - or maybe just not interested in late night TV history - it might help your perspective on the current Leno vs O'Brien mess to read some background on the original Leno vs Letterman feud. Here's the full story of how Jay Leno took over the 'The Tonight Show' hosting gig from long-time host Johnny Carson, way back in 1993.
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The Examiner's comments section doesn't allow long links, so just plug this abbreviated link into your browser.:
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bit.ly/6FjAQq
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(article from NY Times; 1994)
Jay Leno seems like a nice guy. But, I do remember the Leno and Letterman mess. This makes Jay look bad/ worse. NBC should hold the person who put Jay at 10p.m. responsible. We won't be watching the Tonite show any more.
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