Former Tonight Present host Jay Leno has opened up about Jimmy Kimmel following his “indefinite” suspension from ABC. regardless of the pair having a contentious historical past.
Talking to journalists at Chris Wallace’s Hollywood Stroll of Fame ceremony on Thursday (September 18), Leno was requested about ABC pulling Kimmel off the air after threats from Federal Communications Fee chairman Brendan Carr associated to feedback Kimmel made in regards to the Charlie Kirk taking pictures on Monday’s (September 14) present.
“I’m on Jimmy Kimmel’s aspect on that one,” Leno instructed reporters. “I’m an enormous proponent of free speech. Please. I’m on Jimmy Kimmel’s aspect.”
He added, “You don’t get canceled saying well-liked issues. Normally, it’s the reality that winds up getting canceled, so we’ll see what occurs.”
Leno stated that “Jimmy will land on his toes,” including, “He’s a gifted man. He’s humorous. And we’ll see what occurs.”
“It’s a comic speaking. Should you don’t prefer it, don’t watch it… Let the folks resolve,” he continued. “If folks like a present, it stays on the air. I imply, that’s so simple as that. I take pleasure in Jimmy. I like all the blokes. I believe they’re actually gifted. I like jokes. That’s why I watch them.”
Leno’s feedback come after a tense historical past with Kimmel. In 2010, Kimmel appeared on The Tonight Present and “humiliated” Leno when he introduced up the drama surrounding Conan O’Brien. In 2009, O’Brien took over as host of The Tonight Present, solely to depart the next yr after NBC pushed his present again rather than a brand new Leno late-night present.
Throughout his Tonight Present look, Leno requested Kimmel about his greatest prank, to which he replied, “I instructed a man that 5 years from now I’m going to present you my present, after which when the 5 years got here, I gave it to him, after which I took it again virtually immediately.”
Talking on In Depth with Graham Bensinger earlier this yr, Leno introduced up Kimmel’s 2010 Tonight Present look, saying, per Each day Beast, that it was a mistake to let Kimmel “humiliate me alone present.”
“I trusted any person,” he added. “It began an entire factor that continues to this present day actually. He’s a comic book. You do what you bought to do. Okay. I imply, I wouldn’t have performed it, however that’s okay. It’s what it’s.”