Now that it’s official that Conan O’Brien is vacating The Tonight Show, Jay Leno made the following statement during today’s taping of The Jay Leno Read the full post.
Jan 21
2010
08:45 PM ET
Jay Leno: 'I have chosen to stay on the Titanic'
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TV Finale Highlights
Five days at a glance*
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Tuesday, May 1
- The Biggest Loser NBC, 8-9PM
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Friday, May 4
- In Plain Sight USA, 10-11PM
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Sunday, May 6
- The Amazing Race CBS, 8-10PM
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Monday, May 7
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Listen to the arrogance in the above article: “Jay has been booking guests for 18 years, and while there might be a guest or two who favors Conan who doesn’t want to come on, there are also guests who Leno has that don’t like to go on Conan,” said Gaspin. “I think we will be fine.”
It’s not the power of the guests that drive the Tonight Show, but the audience who watch it. I don’t care who he gets… I won’t be watching. Let’s see if they’ll be fine after America tunes out.
jay leno is a big poopy weiner. he’s got a big chin and his butt smells and he has lots of cars. i like conan the barbarian. his genitalia emanate a distinct aroma of frankincense and myrrh. highly theraputic ball smell. also jay leno is not funny.
All you haters out there are refusing to admit that Conan bombed on The Tonight Show. His brand of comedy just doesn’t fit that time slot nor that show. I predicted he wouldn’t last long. I surprised he lasted as long as he did.
P.S. – Don’t forget that Leno has a contract, too. Does everyone really think he would just walk away from that? I don’t feel sorry for Conan. $33 million is a lot for 7 months work. Poor guy……..
If Conan failed at anything, it’s that he failed to lower his standards to those set by Leno’s Tonight Show. Conan’s absurdist humor just went right over the heads of the show’s usual viewers, so they tuned out. And I don’t think those viewers switched to Dave (another absurdist comedian). They just stopped watching late night shows altogether. Two similar hosts going head to head, with one of them embroiled in scandal after scandal (Palin’s daughter and interns) — of course the latter was going to get the ratings.
It’s not about the money, it’s about the principle and putting someone on the air people want to watch. And Leno’s show bombed as well. There hasn’t been an NBC show in the top ten on the nielsen’s in weeks.
Those who couldn’t stand Leno weren’t watching. Those who made him #1 on The Tonight Show will all come back, much to the chagrin of everyone else, especially Letterman.
I don’t agree with it at all. I think Conan should find a home that wants his show and, consequently, gets outstanding ratings – but it won’t because Leno’s Tonight Show wasn’t necessarily about being funny. It was about being on and not being too jarring when folks were trying to go to sleep. That’s what they will get back, everything will fall into place, and Jeff Zucker who, at the moment, looks like the fool will be hailed as a wise man later on.
I’m with Coco. The Tonight Show primary audience never was.
“jarring”? My, it must not take much to shock you, pal. Perhaps you mean that viewers of Conan were shocked to find the Tonight Show actually made them laugh for the first time in 15 years. In which case, yeah, that must have been jarring for the usual mindless, Leno-lovers.
i think i just killed the message board with all my talk about poopy weiners and whatnot.
OK i think Leno bent over CoCO and had his way with him. BUt I noticed something as I watched both Conan and Leno talk about this. Which Man said anything about Haiti relief. I have only seen Conan do or say anything. So to me that proves that Leno has no heart your a mean one mr grinch and i dont think your heart well grow
I just can’t believe how vulgar, crass, and just downright mean all of the Conan supporters are. Sheesh. Anyway, maybe Conan should have manned up and just taken the 12:05 time slot that was offered him. What’s the big deal? The show still “films” at the same time every day. But no. He wanted to be a baby about it and thus got the boot. Good riddance. Welcome back Jay!!!!!
So if your boss demoted you because your predecessor failed in his new job and wanted his old one back, you’d be fine with that?
why would anyone watch leno’s half hour monologue and then stay tuned for another… wait for it… monologue! Add to that… Leno’s fans aren’t the same people as Conan fans so Conan fans will be completely uninterested in watching a 1/2 hr Leno show and probably just watch something else (Letterman, Colbert)… and Leno’s fan’s won’t stay tuned for Conan. Conan did the right think in preserving the Tonight Show brand and his own career.
Idiot. If he were staying on the Titanic, that would mean his 10 PM show wasn’t being cancelled.
How funny in this last week Conan has shown far and away just how much tremendously funny potential he has for turning millions of people back to the TONIGHT show. These shows are the potential that was at the heart of this initial decision. What would take guts here is for NBC to get it and keep him. Leno — go away. You are not funny. You took this very funny man’s job away and myself and millions of others will be keeping far away from the mediocre dull programming you will now crap out. Dumb DUMB DECISION NBC. And now you’ve changed programming again and proved why you are now and always will be a sad shadow of a once mighty network. Conan I will go out of my way to thank you for showing us what is possible and I hope like hell that you land exactly into a place that appreciates you and not the rat pile that you are on right now
I caught 5 minutes of Jay’s show tonight, and I felt like shooting myself in the head. Conan’s joke about his show being replaced by a baby and a monkey picking videos off YouTube was not far from the truth.
Yeah, I tuned in also to see what he had to say and witnessed some of the worst “comedy” I’ve had the displeasure of seeing.
I get that Conan’s sense of humor isn’t for everybody, but Leno’s comedy was not humorous. This was a black hole of quality. This was anti-comedy.
Jay Leno is the Wal Mart of late night. He was unfunny, middle of the road pablum 18 years ago and now he’s worse, unfunny and void of relevance and integrity. I’ll follow Conan wherever he lands and hope Jay’s ratings remain elusive. I have a strong feeling this is just another in a very long string of boneheaded decisions by the mentally challenged monkeys that run NBC and it will come back to bite them in the peacock! Suck it Jay, you are officially a gigantic tool!
Jay Leno is an epic douche. May his cars explode in his face.
Maybe that’s going too far and I’m all on team CoCo.
What an idiot comparing something he is a part of, to a ship that infamously sank. Who does that?? Dumba$$
Who does that?…..someone who’s self aware?
I guess this is where leno abandons his NBC mocking phase and begins his sucking-up phase.
I’m glad he’s aware that the choices he’s made have taken him aboard a ship that will sink that people will die on.
Conan, I will always love you!
oh the irony of some people’s statements…
Conan is fresh and new. Jay has been around way too long and stopped being funny years ago. Not only did his horrible (and horribly rated) show destroyed PrimeTime NBC, Leno now has pushed Conan off The Tonight Show. I’m pretty confused by this strange loyalty NBC has to Leno. Clearly he’s destroyed the network and they can see that, so why keep him? Lorne, what’s going on man?