Jay Leno Tears Into NBC For Replacing Him With Jimmy Fallon
by Shannon Keirnan
After finding out that he will be replaced by Jimmy Fallon at the end of next year, Leno has been making sure his monologues are chock-full of jabs at NBC for giving him the boot.
NBC plans to move “The Tonight Show” from California to New York so Fallon can take over as host (on a brand new set, to add insult to injury). The show may also return to a 90-minute format.
So how is Leno reacting to forced retirement? Not well. The news was only released this week—no doubt we can expect plenty more low-blows for the network until Leno is dragged, kicking and screaming, from behind his desk.
Here’s a list of his jokes to-date:
-“You know the whole legend of St. Patrick, right? St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland — and then they came to the United States and became NBC executives.”
-“Did you hear about this? A 28-year-old woman from Serbia has a rare brain condition where she sees everything upside down. The good news? She’s now been given a job at the White House as President Obama’s economic adviser. Isn’t that crazy? It’s unbelievable. She sees everything upside down. In fact, she thinks NBC is at the top of the ratings.”
-“According to several reports, scientists say they are getting closer and closer to being able to do‘Jurassic Park-‘ style cloning of extinct species. Imagine that. Things that were once thought to be extinct could be brought back from the dead. So there’s hope for NBC. It could turn around.”
-“Are you all excited about March Madness? You all into March Madness? People are talking about who’s in, who’s out, who’s gonna be eliminated. And that’s just here at NBC. I’ve never been in the paper this much. It’s fantastic.”
-“Have you heard about this alleged feud that I’m having with NBC? I think it’s going to be OK. This is real: I had dinner last night with a bunch of NBC executives. To make it up to me, what they did, they are sending my wife and I on an all expenses paid Carnival cruise. How about that? So it looks like it’s going to be OK. Fantastic!”
- “Doctors in Canada were shocked after pulling a three-inch knife blade from the back of a 32-year old man. The knife had been in there for three years! Imagine that, the guy had a knife in his back for three years. He must’ve worked at NBC too. I was stunned by that.”
Will you miss Leno as the “Tonight” host? Or… should he claim some responsibility for all those low rating issues he finds so humorous?