After NBC’s official announcement yesterday that Jimmy Fallon will be taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in February of 2014, all of the late night hosts weighed in on the big news on their shows last night. Conan O’Brien, who was previously given the Tonight Show job in 2009 only to have Leno take it back a year later, broke his silence on the situation by congratulating Fallon without mentioning Leno. “I want to congratulate Jimmy, that is a really fun gig … Jimmy is the perfect guy to do it; he’s going to do a fantastic job. So congratulations Jimmy,†commented O’Brien. Letterman took some typical pot shots at Leno without congratulating Fallon:
“Something’s wrong here. This happened once before with Conan O’Brien … now, it looks like the same thing is happening. I just… I don’t get this. He’s retiring, so it says. And good for him. I’ve known him for 38 years … Now he’s out again, but going out on top. So congratulations to Jay. A job well done. I mean, how many times can a guy be pushed out of the job? … As with everything in life, all I really care about is ‘How will this affect me?’ That’s all I really care about.†- Letterman
“I want to thank everyone here at Late Night, the staff, the crew, and, of course, The Roots. I have to say thanks to Jay Leno for being so gracious. It means so much to me to have his support,†said man of the hour Jimmy Fallon during an emotional, gracious address to his audience last night, while Jay Leno made Jay Leno jokes. Hit the jump for video of all four hosts commenting on the Tonight transition:
David Letterman
Jimmy Fallon
Jay Leno
Conan O’Brien