Conan O’Brien isn’t losing sleep over his once-contentious rift with Jay Leno.
O’Brien reflected on his falling-out with his Tonight Show predecessor-turned-successor while interviewing another former late-night host, Arsenio Hall, on his Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast. (Watch above.)
Hall, who maintains a close friendship with Leno despite their own rocky past, broached the topic in a new episode of O’Brien’s pod, released early to subscribers on March 23.
The exchange came seconds into the duo’s interview, after Hall participated in the show’s usual fill-in-the-blank introductory sentence, “I feel ___ to be Conan O’Brien’s friend.”
Hall’s answer: “Relieved.”
“Why relieved?” O’Brien asked his fellow former late-night host.
“Being totally honest—If you have to take it out, take it out,” Hall prefaced his story. He went on to explain that the night prior, he was doing a benefit show with fellow comics Howie Mandel and Jay Leno. As Hall thought about how he was set to guest on O’Brien’s podcast the very next morning, he noted the irony that he was currently in the same room as Leno.
“I’m looking at Jay in this green room, and I don’t keep up with all white folks’ business,” Hall quipped. “But I do remember that you all had friction.”.
O’Brien and Leno very famously landed on opposite sides of NBC’s great Tonight Show debacle of 2010, in which the network’s proposition to push The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien 30 minutes later to make The Jay Leno Show its lead-in resulted in O’Brien’s exit from the network and Leno’s return to his Tonight Show perch.
In the years that followed, O’Brien often said he hadn’t run into Leno since the incident. And when asked about the drama in recent years, he hasn’t harped on any feud between himself and Leno. But O’Brien’s conversation with Hall was a rare instance of the topic being broached by someone close to Leno.
Even so, O’Brien took a particularly gracious tack when Hall mentioned that “friction.”
“Eh, water under the bridge,” O’Brien quickly replied, perhaps with a tinge of sarcasm.
“Your friends are laughing,” Hall noted of the others in the studio, prompting O’Brien to repeat the phrase more buoyantly. “Water under the bridge!”
But when Hall got genuine, so did O’Brien.
“I thought about it,” Hall said, “and I’m like, ‘Wow, I hope Conan doesn’t hate me.’”
“What? No,” O’Brien quickly assured his longtime peer.
“Jay is like a big brother to me,” Hall continued. “And we fought, too, me and Jay.”
Hall and Leno indeed endured their own drama when Leno’s Tonight Show run began, thanks to Hall declaring that his three-year-old Arsenio Hall Show would “kick Jay’s ass.” Decades later, Leno and Hall now frequently co-headline stand-up shows together.
Of course, O’Brien isn’t one to leave a joke on the table, and Hall set him up for a grade-A jab.
“We’re like Cain and Abel,” Hall said of himself and Leno.
“Which one gets killed?” Conan asked of the biblical sibs. When Hall confirmed Leno, Conan replied, “Then we’re good!”
But O’Brien then shifted into authenticity. “No… This is going to sound corny, but I am so happy with my life, and I get to do the things I want to do,” he avowed. “I honestly don’t think about any of that stuff. I really don’t.”
O’Brien’s sentiment is in keeping with the introspective side he showed in his pre-Oscars conversation with LateNighter editor-at-large (and The Late Shift author) Bill Carter.
“You get one life,” O’Brien said when asked about a possible late night encore. “I spent a long chunk of my life doing that. I really enjoyed it. It was thrilling, and now I like trying all these other things…. I thought I would miss it, but I do not.”
Still, O’Brien did make sure to get a few more laughs in at Leno’s expense during his interview with Hall. Addressing the rumor that Hall became a recluse after his late-night show ended, O’Brien quipped, “You are not a recluse. You might be hanging out with the wrong people… but you’re not a recluse!”
Later, Hall inadvertently referenced Leno again during an extended metaphor about car engines and late-night hosts, prompting O’Brien to launch into his own stock Leno impression.
“This is what I was afraid of,” Hall admitted, laughing at O’Brien’s high-pitched squeal.
“This could be my favorite episode ever, seriously,” O’Brien admitted.
Hall is currently promoting his new book, Arsenio: A Memoir, due out on Tuesday, March 31. His episode of Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend is available to SiriusXM Podcasts+ subscribers now, and releases to the general public next Monday, March 30.
I would imagine that while going through the Tonight Show situation was troubling at the time, especially since his staff had just moved across the country and it wasn’t clear where Conan could go, Conan is probably more bothered by how Jay paints the situation to this day. Jay still says that the network made the change to move him back to 11:35 because Conan’s ratings were bad and The Tonight Show would lose money under Conan. In reality Jay’s ratings being bad caused the entire issue because it provided a bad lead-in for the 11 PM local news, which forced NBC To make a decision. Plus, NBC was likely accounting for the startup costs of building the new studio because Conan lowered the median age of The Tonight Show by DECADES, which brings in lucrative ad deals, so it had to be making money.Not to mention, Conan had the far cheaper and easier contract to break. For Jay to be this delusional thinking he was explicitly wanted back when he was replaced five years later is another level, especially since it was reported his late night show was losing its ability to be profitable during his later years.
From what I understand about late night television, it is a grind. Very long days to make a nightly hour long show, probably even his half hour show too. I would imagine Conan is far happier doing a weekly podcast, plus other projects like movie roles and the Oscars.
He deserves to be treated like a pariah for all the underhanded shit he’s pulled over the years!