Few comedians this side of Tim Allen have had the sustained, long-term notoriety that stand up-turned-late night host Jay Leno has enjoyed over a lengthy career.
Leno, despite being years removed from regular television appearances, still maintains a level of popularity today because he has long spoken rationally about the state of comedy and late night television.
(Spoiler alert: Leno is a not a particularly huge fan of the hyper-politicized state of late night.)
Given that popularity, it’s no surprise then concerned fans began speculating on what in the world happened to Leno’s face recently.
In November, concerned fans noticed that Leno’s face looked like it had lost a bet with a baseball bat.
You can look at the damage for yourself below:
Speaking of losing bets, the prevailing theory among onlookers and fans alike was that Leno had run afoul of the mob and that his latest facial injuries were a direct result of potential gambling debt.
Adding to the mob theory is the slightly unbelievable excuse Leno provided: His bruised up face was a result of tumbling down a hill and landing on rocks face-first.
Is Jay Leno telling the truth?
Leno claims, he was walking near his hotel before a show, when he slipped and fell down a hill.
While there’s no reason not to believe Leno’s explanation, fans were still very skeptical, wondering aloud why Leno was by himself in the dark or why his facial injuries were so severe.
Perhaps catching wind of that skepticism, Leno took to fellow comedian and traditional liberal Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast.
Leno, looking much better, appeared on the Friday episode of “Club Random,” and covered a wide-range of topics — including what he insists was a freak accident with his facial bruising.
WARNING: The following videos contain language and visible drugs that some viewers may find offensive.
“Jay, did you see what [a tabloid] said about your spill?” Maher began.
“No, what did they say?” Leno responded.
“It’s a conspiracy theory, since you’ve had three accidents, that you actually have gambling debts, and you’re being beaten up by the mob,” Maher explained.
“I love the idea that the mob would drive to [Greensberg], Pennsylvania, wait outside the Hampton Inn, in kind of a sleety, rainy kind of day, to throw me down the hill,” Leno joked.
Maher cleared up that the conspiracy theory suggested there was no spill down a hill and that it was just a good, old-fashioned “statement” being sent by organized crime.
Of note, Maher invoked another couple of notable Leno injuries — a motorcycle accident in early 2023 and a fire incident that left him needing reconstructive surgery — contributing to the mob-related conspiracy theories.
While Leno continued to deny that his latest round of incidents were a result of the mob, the comedian did recount one time he did run into an apparent mobster.
Leno described a time when a shady-looking individual once slipped him a $100 bill for being “funny,” while Leno was first bursting onto the scene as a young stand-up.
“I was pretty smart,” Leno began, before offering more details of his close encounter.
“This guy – a mob guy – comes up to me afterwards, and he goes, ‘Hey, you’re a funny kid,’” Leno recounted.
The soon-to-be late night television star declined the money, to which the alleged mobster replied, “You know, you’re a smart kid. You don’t take money from people like me. That’s smart.”
Leno claimed he was never bothered by organized crime after that, though he did witness other comedians getting roughed up for “being a wise-a** on-stage” to the mobsters.
Elsewhere in the episode, Leno had issued a blanket denial that he even gambles, per Fox News.
“I don’t gamble,” Leno admitted. “Losing 100 bucks makes me feel stupider than winning one thousand makes me feel good. Because I go, ‘I could have taken my wife to dinner.’”
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