Conan O'Brien Takes Swipe at Jay Leno
Credit: Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage.com
The gloves are off!
Conan O'Brien finally took aim at Jay Leno, whom he is battling with over the 11:35 p.m. late-night time slot.
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"Hosting The Tonight Show has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me -- and I just want to say to the kids out there watching: You can do anything you want in life. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it too," said O'Brien, 46, during Wednesday night's opening monologue.
O'Brien also joked that he could end up working at Starbucks if NBC bumps his show back to 12:05, a plan he called the "destruction" of the "greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting."
"Hi, I’m Conan O’Brien, and I’ve been practicing the phrase, 'Who ordered the mochaccino grande?' he quipped.
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O'Brien didn't stop there.
"According to a new TV Guide poll, 83 percent of voters want me to stay at 11:35. When he heard this poll number, President Obama asked, “How can I get NBC to screw me over?'" he added.
Meanwhile, Leno, 59, compared the network to the Gosselin family during his Wednesday night monologue.
"Welcome to NBC. America's most dysfunctional TV family. Thank you very much," he joked. "You thought the Gosselins were screwed up. Oh my god!
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Continued Leno, "Conan O'Brien, understandably, is very upset. He had a statement in the paper yesterday. Conan said NBC has only given him seven months to make his show work. When I heard that... seven months! How did he get that deal. We only got four! Who's his agent? Get me that guy. I'll take seven."
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64For those of you with short memories, the reason Jay left the Tonight Show was because Conan blackmailed NBC. He said the only way he would renew his contract for 5 years is if NBC would give him the Tonight Show. NBC stupidly agreed and forced Jay to leave even tho' he didn't want to leave and was Number 1 over Letterman for years!! They tried to appease him by giving him the 10 o'clock slot which was doomed for failure. They finally realized their mistake. Conan's show was terrible and the ratings proved it. All he does is watch himself on the monitor and use juvinile potty humor. No Class!! Jay has always been a gentleman and tried to get along at the expense of being forced out of a job he loved. As for Letterman, he is a very mean-spirited nasty man and a sleeze-bucket with no morals. I hope FOX will think twice before hiring Conan. They need to watch a few of his shows and check out his ratings.
For everyone that's talking about Leno being pushed out of The Tonight Show job by Conan and Leno getting better ratings than Letterman, blah, blah, blah...here's a reminder - Johnny Carson was pushed to retire by NBC because of Leno and he wanted Letterman to get the job as Letterman was promised years before. But Leno pushed for the job and the nitwits at NBC gave it to him and screwed over Letterman (probably because they were tired of Dave always making fun of them) which is why he went to CBS. Once his show moved to CBS, Letterman always beat Leno and the NBC brass admitted they made a HUGE mistake. This was true UNTIL the Hugh Grant scandal broke and Hugh Grant went on Jay's show probably because he was afraid Dave would be mean and he knows that Jay has no backbone. That was the first time that the Tonight Show did really well since the Letterman/Leno late night wars started and Letterman just never got the momentum back. Honestly, Jay just isn't funny. My favorite is Jimmy Kimmel...who cares if his ratings aren't great cause he's hilarious!! Besides, ratings have nothing to do with whether a show is good or not...it just means that the show is tame enough to make middle-America watch.
Petunia, Thank you. How many times have people been told that Leno did not leave Tonight by his own choice. It's unbelievable that he is receiving any negative press. It is a mess and very sad for Conan but that does not mean Leno is to blame.
Patty, You are quite insensitive. Let's go back to the beginning and keep in mind that Leno was told he would give up the show in 5 years; he was not interested in retiring. Are you old enough to remember how classy he was about giving it up and turning it over to Conan. Perhaps Conan could return that display of class. This has nothing to do with being greedy.
OH AND I DO BLAME LENO ON THIS WHOLE THING AS MUCH AS I BLAME STUPID NBC..HE CAN BOW OUT AND BE A STAND UP GUY AND SAY NO THANKS AND RETIRE WITH PRIDE, BUT NOOO HE IS A GREEDY SELFISH MAN. AND NOT FUNNY! TEAM CONAN! ok sorry that was lame and corny. stupid jennifer aniston and angelina jolie for starting that.I hang my head in shame.
understandable C,but we must all just sit in front of the tv.and be sad 24/7? There are thousands helping out and we need outlets like stupid fights on who needs to host the tonight show.Not everything we do in life has to stop because nature hits.I pray for those and I need to laugh.sorry
Do ANY of you Dummies pay attention to the facts? Leno did NOT leave the Tonight Show of his own choice. The Network made the decision for him. He had no choice!
Conan's joke at Jay's expense WAS NOT funny. Leno is NOT in favor of NBC screwing ,shifting him or Conan. Leno is off the air,dark, out,until after the Olympics. NBC is messing up here.Maybethe show shouldjustleave things as are. Fromthe beginning, instead of giving Conan The Tonight Show, and making a show for Jimmy, just letJimmy have the grand prize of all, The Tonight Show.
Look at the numbers. Leno always kicked Letterman's butt. Conan, he is not match at all. Maybe NBC will get it right this time.
No matter who does the Tonight Show, they will never be Johnny Carson. When Carson was gone that should have been the end of the Tonight Show. I like Conan whether his ratings are what they were expected to be or not. I have watched the show since its been on. I couldnt stand it when Leno was the host. Im sorry but I just cant stand to watch him no matter what time he's on. I think its time for Leno to bow out gracefully now and retire, spend more time with his car collection or whatever, just leave.
Tight now, the only thing on TV after the news is reruns of NCIS and CSI. Letterman, Obrien and the others are just hacks waiting for a taxi out of town. They will never be funny, or intelligent.
There was an earhquake in Haiti which killed 50,000 people and many more are still suffering and dying at this moment. WHO GIVES A F**K ABOUT THIS SH*T!
Must clarify, between Jay Leno and Conan it would be Conan. Lopez is the SHOW to watch.
Hey, all I have to say is that the George Lopez Show right now at this moment in time beats the pants off from either Jay Leno or Conan O'brien tv gigs. If you do not believe me check it out. I can see Hollywood wanting to go Lopez Tonight than those other two, but if I must choose it would be CONAN.
If Fox is smart, they'll get Conan set up in a hurry and use 24 on Mondays and American Idol on Tuesdays-Thursdays to get his ratings high in the first place. It'll be the best thing to ever happen to Conando!!
NBC will learn its lesson when Leno finishes 4th to Letterman on CBS/Conan on Fox and Nightline/Kimmel on ABC. That would be consistent with their choices. NBC has 4th place decision making capability. What a bunch of morons. Leno and Jimmy Fallon are the two LEAST talented dufuses of the bunch and that's what they're left with. HA! I'll never watch NBC again. Even the new Seinfeld show will be a bust. It sounds dumb anyway!
i love conan. he a great comedian and i believe he should stay in his 11:35 time slot.
Conan needs to face up to the fact that his ratings stink!!! He ruined the show. It is completely unwatchable. If his ratings were great, the network wouldn't be doing this. He thought he was ready to take over but he wasn't, isn't, may never be. Leno was great on the Tonight Show, and he should be back there. Conan is letting his overinflated ego take over. Moving to 12:05 isn't that big of a deal. He still makes millions. He has a job for God's sake, many people do not nowadays. Stop whining Conan.
Bring Leno back!!! Conan is the cause of the "destruction" of the "greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting." He stinks!! He needs to put his ego aside and go to 12:05 or just go away. NBC never should have let him take over for Jay Leno, that was there only mistake, making a terrible agreement with him. He just is not good enough to keep. If he cared so much about the people that work on his show, he would just let NBC move it.
Here is a news flash for you people. Leno did not "decide" or "plan" to give up his show. That was forced on him contractually 5 years ago by the NBC network brass when THEY promised the show to Conan. THEY hoped it would all work out. It hasn't. Conan's viewership numbers are bad. Leno has actually held the same audience numbers at 10pm that he held at 11:30pm - it's just that the 10pm time slot is expected to bring in 2 or 3 times that viewership. This is not Leno's fault, it is the NBC brasses' fault. Leno is as much a victim as Conan, although Leno may come out better in the whole mess than Conan simply because he has a wider and larger audience viewership. Simple as that. If Conan's numbers were better, he wouldn't be in this situation. Given all that, there is no reason for Leno to commit career hari kari for Conan and you should stop blaming Leno for this mess that is not of his making.