14 DAY TRIAL // As the NBC debacle continues to be without an immediate solution in sight, Jay Leno wanted to show that he had no hard feelings for Jimmy Kimmel and invited him on his show, the 10 @ 10 segment. For those not in the know, the night before, Kimmel had dressed as Leno on his own show and made it clear that he held him responsible for the NBC situation and Conan O’Brien’s rumored upcoming departure from The Tonight Show.
Leno’s idea might have seemed brilliant at first but, as the Los Angeles Times also puts it, a couple of minutes into the interview, it became clear that he realized he had made a mistake by asking Kimmel on. That was mostly because Kimmel spared no effort in ripping Leno apart, torching him and basically blaming him for everything that was going on at NBC at the moment. What was even worse, EW’s PopWatch says, is that Leno did not even make a faint attempt at fighting back: he just stood there, laughed awkwardly and Kimmel continued to twist the blade deeper into his back.
“On Thursday night, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel used an appearance on The Jay Leno Show to rip the host, who good-naturedly put up with the sharp-edged ribbing. When Leno asked Kimmel what show he would still like to host, the ABC comedian responded: ‘Oh, this is a trick, right? Where you get me to host The Tonight Show, and then take it back from me? Listen, Lucy, I’m not Charlie Brown. I don’t fall for that trick.’ A few minutes later, when Leno suggested he might make the jump to ABC, Kimmel stuck the knife in deeper: ‘Listen, Jay, Conan and I have children....You’ve got $800 million. For God’s sake, leave our shows alone!’” the LA Times writes of the segment.
“Joining the pantheon of runaway guests […], Kimmel mercilessly piled on Leno with zingers rooted in the perception that Leno is responsible for NBC’s current late-night stare-down with Conan O’Brien. One of Leno’s questions for Kimmel was, ‘What is the worst idea your writers have ever pitched to you?’ After watching this entire Hindenberg-caliber disaster, I can assure you I know what Leno’s own answer would be. Oh, the humanity! What was Leno thinking? And why didn’t he fight back?” EW writes.
The former publication also ventures a guess that Kimmel might have crossed the line in how he handled the entire thing, but many “Coco” (O’Brien) supporters clearly don’t agree with it, saying on dedicated forums he just said what was on everyone else’s mind. Below is the entire 10 @ 10 segment on Jay Leno: watch and enjoy (the sound is a bit off, though).