The Tonight Show Row: Jay Leno Speaks Out

Chat show host Jay Leno, who appears to have been the subject of frequent barbs from other late-night comics recently, defended himself last night. But according to usatoday.com, he defended himself as a victim and not a villain of NBC’s late-night change-around.

Leno started off with a few jokes, such as “Conan and I won a Golden Globe – for best late night drama.” He then went on to say that the show is called “Two men and a half-assed network.” He then sat down and went over everything that is happening.

He recalled how NBC told him back in 2004 of its plans to hand over “The Tonight Show” to Conan O’Brien, telling him that they didn’t think he could sustain his top-rated status. Leno claims that when NBC asked him to do a prime-time show, he said it wouldn’t work.

When that actually turned out to be true, Leno says that he just went along with the network’s idea to reinstate him in late night. It was only when O’Brien refused to be bumped until after midnight that Jay says that he agreed to take the show back.