Jay Leno paid his dues by appearing on fellow comedian Bill Maher's podcast “Club Random.”
The former “Tonight Show” host clarified floating rumors that his facial injuries were the result of a mob assault over gambling debts.
In November, Leno revealed that he fell from a 60-foot hill outside a hotel, breaking his wrist and sustaining severe bruising to his face and body.
Hours after the fall, the acclaimed stand-up comedian took to the stage at a show wearing an eyepatch.
Jay Leno suffers broken wrist and facial bruises in bad fall, but performs live show before going to hospital
Jay Leno suffered severe bruises from a fall in November. (Getty Images)
When Maher asked Leno about the rumors, Jay replied, “I like the idea of not being able to take away just one of my cars because of gambling debts.”
A longtime car enthusiast, Leno is known for owning hundreds of collector cars worth millions of dollars in his personal garage.
Jay Leno 'feels good' despite bruised face in fall
However, he remembered an encounter with the mafia when he was a young comedian.
“I was pretty smart,” he said. “I remember being on stage a few years ago doing Catch a Rising Star, and then this guy – this mob guy – came up to me and said, “Hey, you're a funny kid. You're a good guy.''
Leno had been using the peace sign while driving shortly after his fall in November. (mega)
“He took the $100 and put it in my pocket. I said, 'Oh, thank you.' I say, 'I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you know, I don't want to take that as a church or something. Donate to…I'm fine, but thank you.'' And he said to me, “You're a smart kid, you're smart not to take money from people like me.'' ”And no one ever bothered me again. ”
Leno admitted that there was nothing wrong with him, but he witnessed mobsters “kick comic crap left and right” on stage for being “smart.”
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He also didn't understand the rumors because he just didn't want to lose money.
“I don't gamble,” Leno confessed. “When I lose $100, I feel more stupid than when I win $1,000 and feel better, because I think, 'I could have taken my wife out to dinner.'”
Jay Leno's Burbank garage is home to hundreds of rare and collectible cars. (Walker Dalton)
Last month, the comedian said: “Inside Edition” He fell from a 60-foot rocky hill, breaking his wrist, sustaining severe bruises on his face and body, and missing his fingernails.
His hotel fall is just the latest in a series of incidents. traumatic event Leno also had his bike “flipped off” in January 2023.
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Leno was hit with a clothesline while riding his motorcycle through a parking lot, fracturing two ribs, his kneecap and his collarbone.
“I turned onto a side street and drove through the parking lot, and unbeknownst to me, a guy had put wire up in the parking lot, but there were no flags hanging,” Leno said. Las Vegas Review Journal.
“I didn't realize it until it was too late. I got caught on the clothesline and fell off the bike with a thud. The bike kept going. You see what happens.”
Jay Leno revealed that he suffered burns from a garage fire while leaving the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills in November 2022. (Grossman Burn Center)
In 2022, Leno suffered third-degree burns in a gasoline fire and underwent multiple surgeries. Leno reportedly suffered severe burns. He suffered injuries to his chest, face and hand while working under a car in a Burbank-area garage.
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Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
