Random History Behind How Jay Leno Became The Most Hated Man In Show Business (12 items)

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  (#11) Leno Played Jimmy Kimmel - But Kimmel Got The Last Laugh

  Jimmy Kimmel has remained very open about getting played by Jay Leno. Not only does Kimmel say he was sympathetic to both Letterman and O'Brien in their respective feuds with Leno, he claims that during discussions of a move from NBC to ABC (as The Jay Leno Show was bombing), Leno instigated a friendship with Kimmel.

  Leno noted that if he were to move to ABC, he would be bumping Kimmel's time slot - something he allegedly didn't want to do. The two had many conversations concerning the move, but as soon as Leno decided to stay at NBC, those conversations ended. To Kimmel, it seemed like Leno was just befriending him in case something happened. As soon as he was no longer needed as a potential safety net, he'd run out of use to Leno.

  This false friendship resulted in Kimmel appearing on The Jay Leno Show in the midst of the Late Night Wars to, in theory, support Leno. But in a live-to-tape segment where Kimmel was asked about the best prank he ever pulled. Kimmel responded:

  I think the best prank I ever pulled was, I told a guy once, "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 I took it back, almost instantly.

  It didn't stop there, as four more simple questions followed, all of which Kimmel used to work in a dig at Leno and his treatment of O'Brien. All Leno could do was uncomfortably laugh along.
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  (#8) After Agreeing To Step Down, Leno Decided He Wanted His Show Back From O'Brien

  After agreeing to step down from The Tonight Show in 2009, Leno didn't exactly disappear. Instead, he became like a ghost haunting an ancient castle. To appease Leno, NBC CEO Jeff Zucker gave him The Jay Leno Show, a 60-minute comedy variety show at 10 pm that was basically like The Tonight Show, but without the celebrity interviews.

  The show debuted to massive ratings, but the 18 million viewers dwindled quickly, and NBC was left scratching their heads. At the same time, O'Brien wasn't drawing huge ratings on The Tonight Show at 11:35, so NBC decided to cut The Jay Leno Show down to 30 minutes, move the show to the 11:35 time slot, and push The Tonight Show to 12:05. O'Brien was furious, writing in an open letter: 

  ...NBC executives told me they intended to move the “Tonight Show” to 12:05 to accommodate the “Jay Leno Show” at 11:35. For 60 years, the “Tonight Show” has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the “Tonight Show” into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The “Tonight Show” at 12:05 simply isn’t the “Tonight Show.”

  O'Brien quit and, needing a host for The Tonight Show, NBC turned to a familiar face: Leno.
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  (#10) Leno Doesn't Think He Did Anything Wrong, And Has Never Apologized For His Behavior

  To paraphrase Conan O'Brien, there's a "very clean story" inside Jay Leno's head where the longtime Tonight Show host is the hero of the Late Night Wars. Leno has never admitted wrongdoing beyond telling a "white lie" to O'Brien. He continues to state it was O'Brien's poor ratings which lead NBC to return the show to Leno, and that it would have been ridiculous to refuse to take back the show when it was offered.

  As for his culpability, Leno believes his hands are clean:

  I sort of smile when I read about how I "conspired" - you know, "Jay Leno demanded the show back and they had to give it to him because they had to pay him $150 million." No, they didn't have to give me $150 million. I mean, if I'm that smart, how did I lose the show in the first place?
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  (#3) Leno's Manager Planted A Fake News Story Attacking Johnny Carson

  After Leno signed on as the host who would take over for Johnny Carson after his retirement, he had to sit around while Carson figured out when he would leave the show. Leno's manager, Helen Kushnick, became impatient and decided to plant a fake story about NBC being disappointed with Carson's performance.

  An anonymous "associate" told The New York Times: "[Kushnick] asked me to plant a story somewhere," with no attribution, saying NBC execs thought Carson was stale and his audience was too old. The story ran in The Post on Feb, 11, 1991 with the headline: "There Goes Johnny; NBC Looking to Dump Carson for Jay Leno." 

  Leno claimed he didn't know who concocted the story, and that he was sure it didn't come from his camp. When he told Carson this, the host simply responded by saying, "It came from you."
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  (#5) Leno's Booking Staff Pushed Dennis Miller Out Of Late Night

  David Letterman wasn't the only late night host dealing with the brunt of Jay Leno's passive-aggressive actions. In the early '90s, Leno did everything he could to make sure smaller late night hosts like Dennis Miller and Arsenio Hall lost out on guests, though he and his team claim they never tried to lure guests away from smaller shows.

  After Dennis Miller's foray into the world of late night failed in 1992, he told Entertainment Weekly:

  The booking wars exist, that’s all I can say. For [Leno's team] to say it doesn’t exist - well, I was privy to the whole schematic. It exists in spades.

   
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  (#7) He Waged His Most Long-Lasting And Acrimonious War Against Conan O'Brien

  Twelve years after the "Late Night Wars" came to an end, a new battle was brewing. Conan O'Brien, who had been dutifully hosting Late Night since Letterman's departure, was due to host The Tonight Show, but Leno wasn't ready to give up the reigns. In Bill Carter's The War for Late Night, the biographer claims Leno signed what was then referred to as his last contract extension in 2004.

  He put on a nice face for the NBC execs, but when he spoke to the people who were closest to him, he said it felt like NBC was breaking up with him. He may have not yet hatched the plan to usurp O'Brien, but Leno was figuring out a way to keep working. He even went so far as to secretly promise his staff that if he had to, he would take a deal at ABC and move the show to their Disney lot. 

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