Jimmy Kimmel once ‘sucker-punched’ Jay Leno over a ‘Tonight Show’ drama: "Leave other..."
Late-night television has always been a battleground for comedic giants, but few rivalries have been as intense as the one between Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno. However, the tension between the two stemmed from one of the most controversial shake-ups in The Tonight Show's history. As reported by The Things, in the early 2000s, when 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' was thriving, Fox saw an opportunity to lure him away from NBC. To keep him, NBC promised O'Brien that he would succeed Leno as host of 'The Tonight Show' in five years, effectively setting a transition plan for him to replace Leno. However, when O'Brien finally took the reins in 2009, the NBC network hesitated to fully let go of Leno, placing him in a primetime slot with 'The Jay Leno Show'. This unusual arrangement negatively impacted Conan’s ratings, ultimately leading NBC to reinstate Leno as 'The Tonight Show' host in 2010.
Many saw this as an unfair move, however, one of his most outspoken critics was Kimmel. During his appearance on 'The Jay Leno Show' in 2010, when Leno asked about the best prank he had ever pulled, Kimmel fired back with a biting response. Kimmel quipped, "I told a guy that 'five years from now, I'm going to give you my show.' And then when the five years came, I gave it to him. And then I took it back almost instantly. I think he works at Fox or something now," as per HuffPost. Leno then asked Kimmel if he had ever ordered anything off TV, to which Kimmel retorted, "Like NBC ordered your show off the TV?" He continued his jabs, pointing out that Leno had, "$800 million, for God's sake," and advising him to "leave other people’s shows alone."
People also reported that Leno later expressed his feelings about the interview during an appearance on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show', stating, "I got sucker-punched." He also admitted to being taken aback by Kimmel's unexpected jabs, acknowledging that he could have edited the segment, "but I said, No. Put it out there. I walked into it." However, Kimmel replied to this during his March 2010 interview with David Letterman. He said, "He's always running to tattle to Oprah," as reported by TooFab. He further acknowledged that Leno may have been right, saying, "I didn't feel like I did sucker punch him, but then I looked it up in the dictionary and it turns out I did."
Amidst this turmoil, Kimmel also dedicated an entire episode of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' to impersonating Leno, complete with a prosthetic chin and grey wig. He kept taking a dig at Leno stating, "Hello Hello, my name is Jay Leno and let it here be known that I'm taking over all the shows in late night." Many fans sided with his gig, one said in the YouTube comments section, "This captured everything people hate about Jay Leno. The lame jokes, the smug headshake, the music after every joke, the sycophantic banter with the band leader, it was PERFECT!" another added, "..the band was on point too, with the annoying drum roll at each joke."
Despite their turbulent history, time has softened the feud. Kimmel revealed on the Awards Chatter podcast that Leno personally reached out to him in 2017 after his son underwent open-heart surgery at just three days old. He said, "Jay and I have made peace. After my son had his operation, he called me and he was very nice," as per People. Further, reflecting on their past, Kimmel also acknowledged Leno’s contributions to comedy, stating, "You can't argue with [Leno's] success and his longevity. He added, “I will say, when I was in high school and college, he was one of my all-time favorite comics.”