Jay Leno Regrets Letting Fellow Late-Night Host ‘Humiliate’ Him on ‘The Tonight Show’

Jay Leno is no stranger to late-night feuds.

The story of exactly how the comedian landed in Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show chair, despite David Letterman also being a contender, became the stuff of legends—plus a bestselling book (Bill Carter’s The Late Shift) that was later turned into an HBO movie. 

Related: Jay Leno Gives Rare Update on Wife Mavis’ Heartbreaking Dementia Battle

Even after retiring from The Tonight Show in 2009 and welcoming Conan O’Brien as his replacement, Leno had second thoughts. Soon after his departure, he launched a new late-night series, The Jay Leno Show, which ran just before O’Brien. When NBC suggested moving the eponymous talk show into The Tonight Show‘s slot, O’Brien bowed out and Leno resumed his place behind The Tonight Show desk in 2010.

That same year, fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel dropped by The Tonight Show to chat with Leno, and couldn’t help himself from taking a few jabs at all the behind-the-scenes drama.

When Leno asked Kimmel to share the best prank he had ever pulled, Kimmel shot right back: “I think the best prank I ever pulled was I told a guy that, ‘Five years from now, I’m going to give you my show.’ And then when the five years came, I gave it to him and then I took it back almost instantly.” 

Leno played the role of good sport and laughed along, but Kimmel didn’t let up. In what seemed to be an unrelated topic, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host shared how he’s not into strippers “because you have this phony relationship with them for money. Similar to that of when you and Conan were on The Tonight Show together passing the torch.”

Fifteen years later, Leno is finally speaking out about that moment. And admitting that he made “a mistake” by letting the segment air. During an appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the comedian admitted that, “When Kimmel came on my show and humiliated me on my own show, I let it happen.” 

“I didn’t edit it,” Leno continued. “It was my mistake. I trusted somebody. I went, ‘Ah, I made a mistake. OK, I should pay the price.’ And it’s fine, it’s fine. I mean, we could have edited it out of the show.”

When Bensinger pressed about why he chose to leave it in, despite the humbling comments, Leno was honest: “Well, because it happened. It’s real. It happened. It’s my mistake. That’s how you learn.”

While the Leno-Kimmel feud continued for many years, both have stated publicly that they have since patched things up. Kimmel said that Leno reached out to him after his young son underwent open heart surgery and they had “made peace.” Though just last week, while sitting down with Ben Affleck on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel reminded The Accountant 2 star of the time he found himself at Affleck’s house making small talk with Leno, who arrived right after him.