Sorry, conspiracy theorists—Jay Leno is sticking with his story about falling down a hill in rural Pittsburgh. No gambling debts or mafia enforcers to see here, folks.
In a new interview with Spike Feresten on Spike’s Car Radio, the former Tonight Show host provided a more detailed explanation of how exactly it was that he sustained such extensive bruising and broken bones during a recent weekend trip to Pennsylvania.
First, though, regarding all those questions and, in particular, the rumor that he owed money to the mob and had been subject to a beat-down: “It’s so stupid,” Leno said.
Still, he addressed the many questions that have emerged since he showed up an L.A. event in November looking like, as Feresten aptly put it, “an AI of a Jay Leno that had been … thrown off a building.”
Why he stayed at the Hampton Inn
Questions have swirled around why Leno was reported to have been staying a Hampton Inn, and not somewhere more befitting a multi-millionaire former Tonight Show host, fueling speculation that he was in some sort of financial distress.
Leno explained that he got into the area at 1 a.m. and was only going to be there for a short stay. He asked for the nearest hotel, and it happened to be the Hampton Inn.
“It’s a Hilton,” Leno said in defense of the brand. Asked why he wouldn’t choose to stay somewhere like the Four Seasons, the frugal Leno responded, “Why would I pay $1,100 a night?”
Leno further explained that, if his wife was with him, he’d have stayed in a nice hotel. But when it’s just him, he doesn’t feel the need. Feresten noted that he’s been on the road with Jerry Seinfeld and that Seinfeld also stays at modest hotels, despite his tremendous wealth.
Gambling debts and the mob
Feresten showed Leno a series of social media posts, including one where the author wrote, “Jay Leno was beat up in some kind of ritual I suspect… Or to be silenced…” Feresten added that the idea spread to superstar podcast host (and occasional conspiracy theorist himself) Joe Rogan.
So did the injuries come as the result of some sort of gambling debt payback?
“No, never gambled in my life,” Leno retorted.
Leno did find the mafia idea amusing, though. “I like that the mob would drive to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to meet me on the top of a hill, and then throw me down the hill.”
The full fall story
As Leno relayed it to Feresten, he was on a mission to get a chicken parm, which he hoped to find at the restaurant at the bottom of the hill outside his hotel. As for why he was on foot and didn’t have a car or a driver, Leno explained that he was only in town for a short amount of time, and didn’t think he’d need one.
“As I’m falling, I see these two elderly ladies—one of them goes, ‘That looks like Jay Leno falling down the hill,'” Leno recalled. He noted that the other one dismissed the idea of it being Leno out in small-town Pennsylvania.
Those women came over to him after he’d landed at the bottom of the hill, Leno said, and realized it was actually him. They kindly gave him a ride to a nearby restaurant after he realized that the restaurant he’d planned to go to was more of a sports bar.
“I didn’t think it was that bad,” Leno said of his injuries as he sat down at the restaurant. But then his eye swelled shut. When his server brought his sandwich, Leno said he told him, “Hey, you know, you don’t look that good.”
It was then that Leno went to the men’s room and realized for the first time how bad his injuries looked.
But rather than seeking medical attention, he asked for directions to the nearest CVS and proceeded to buy an eyepatch. The photo he took with a young woman there was picked up by Inside Edition.
His accident-prone history
For those who haven’t been keeping track, Leno has had quite a few accidents recently. The most dramatic was when Leno’s face was covered in gasoline, a spark jumped, and “my face caught on fire,” the comedian recalled.
Feresten and Leno ran down several of his injuries, most of them vehicle-related. As Leno jokingly admitted, “There’s a lot of accidents in between you don’t even hear about.”
Leno shared that he did 90 minutes of comedy on stage the night of his fall, eyepatch and all. He said that he got a good laugh when he told the crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m just completing my fall tour.”
Feresten asked when the audience was able to get past staring at his injuries and enjoy the comedy. Leno said crowds get on board after his first joke, adding, “Audiences love seeing rich people catch on fire.”
He noted that after his burns, he joked with crowds about performing “extra crispy.”
Despite all of his explanations, denying a conspiracy theory usually just makes its true believers dig in harder. Jay Leno truthers, coming soon to a social media platform near you.
You can watch the full Spike’s Car Radio interview with Jay Leno in the video below:
