Conan Was Nearly Canceled After Backlash Over His Snarky Comments About Jay Leno

Summary

• Conan O'Brien's bitter departure from The Tonight Show led to a feud between him and Jay Leno, causing immense controversy and backlash from fans.
• O'Brien's interview with 60 Minutes, where he made snarky comments about Leno, almost led to him being canceled and lost him a portion of his fanbase.
• Despite moving on to host his show on TBS, O'Brien still harbors negative feelings towards Leno and refuses to have him as a guest, showing that the feud between them continues to this day.

Younger audiences may only be able to recall a time when Conan O'Brien was on TBS. This is because the 18-49 demographic was what Conan was targeting. During his tenure, the median age of viewers was 33 years old — a stark difference of Jay Leno's Tonight Show audience, who had a median age of 52 years old.

However, before there was Conan there was The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. A gig that if audiences blinked too quickly was something that they missed. This is because O'Brien only hosted the coveted late-night spot for six months before he was forced out by NBC. Howard Stern warned O'Brien that Leno would not give up The Tonight Show without a fight. It appeared Stern's fears were founded.

The dismissal was something that O'Brien was very bitter about. This bitterness was directed at both NBC and Leno and audiences were in O'Brien's corner, thinking that he got the short end of the stick with the deal. That was until O'Brien spoke out about the situation. When that happened, Conan O'Brien was nearly canceled after backlash over his snarky comments about Jay Leno.

Conan O'Brien's Comments About Jay Leno Almost Got Him Canceled

Conan O'Brien was seen as "whining" by fans in his interview with 60 Minutes

In the months after O'Brien was fired from The Tonight Show, he finally sat down to tell his side of the story. Instead of choosing an entertainment publication to speak to, O'Brien went to the crème de la crème of broadcast journalism, 60 Minutes.

It was during this interview with the publication that it was clear how upset O'Brien was at being forced out of his job. However, the comments made about Leno nearly lost O'Brien his fanbase. Worse still, O'Brien was nearly canceled.

"You've got this non-disparagement agreement," Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes stated.

"Do you have a copy? 'Cause I haven't read it in awhile. I keep one in…my wallet," O'Brien joked.

"You do?" Kroft asked.

"Any time people come up to me, 'Hey, so what's the deal with Jay Leno?' 'Hold on a second. He's a fine and good man.' There we go, put that away," O'Brien joked.

"Can I assume that this interview would take a different tenor if that agreement did not exist?" Kroft asked.

"No, I don't think it would," O'Brien explained. "The biggest thing people come up and say to me in gas stations and restaurants, I have so many people say this to me, 'Hey partner, you got screwed.' I don't, and I always tell them, 'No, I didn't. I didn't get screwed. I'm fine. It just didn't work out.'"

"Well, you did get screwed," Kroft said.

"You think I got screwed?" O'Brien asked.

"Well, I think most people think you got screwed. I mean, Jay Leno thinks you got screwed," Kroft stated. "Jay Leno thinks he got screwed."

"How did he get screwed again?" O'Brien asked, with a laugh. "Explain that part to me. I'm sorry. Jay's got 'The Tonight Show.' I have a beard and an inflatable bat. And I'm touring city to city. Who can say who won and who lost? I'm laughing 'cause crying would be sad."

Some fans who watched the interview did not feel bad for O'Brien. Given that he was able to walk away from NBC with $45 million in his pocket and land a show on TBS, many were confused about why O'Brien would not move on and wondered if his demeanor was something that should have gotten him canceled.

"You can stop whining anytime now Conan," one fan wrote after the interview. "NBC has a long history of treating people crappy."

Another fan commented, "I’m not sure why he gave [the interview]. What good does it do him? He’s not whining, exactly, but he’s airing his dirty laundry on national TV and seeming "heart-broken."

"Why did Conan think this interview and his woe-is-me attitude would help him?" a third fan asked. "I came away embarrassed for him – and I can’t be the only one."

Yes, O'Brien did lose his job. That is not why he was upset exactly, however. Instead, it was the way that O'Brien was let go from The Tonight Show that eventually led to a feud between himself and Leno.

Why Jay Leno And Conan O'Brien Feuded

Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien's feud began when NBC gave The Tonight Show back to Leno

Letterman was promised The Tonight Show when Johnny Carson retired. However, Leno started hosting The Tonight Show in 1992 after NBC abruptly changed its mind and did not let Letterman know.

During that time, he had worked hard to make the late-night show the number one show in its time slot. Following Leno was O'Brien with Late Night with Conan O'Brien. David Letterman never thought O'Brien should have been a talk show host but helped him despite this. That help allowed O'Brien to get equally high ratings with Late Night.

In 2009, NBC decided to move O'Brien to The Tonight Show and give Leno a show at 10:00 PM to run out the remainder of his contract, which was another five years. This was done because O'Brien's contract was coming up and NBC did not want to lose him to another network.

On the surface, all appeared well. Leno wished O'Brien the best of luck with The Tonight Show. The two men did not have any public animosity towards one another. However, when Leno's ratings began to sink and older audiences were tuning out The Tonight Show, NBC executives got worried.

To raise ratings, Leno was offered a 30-minute talk show from 11:35 PM to 12:05 AM. The Tonight Show would then start at 12:05 AM and run until Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was on. Leno was happy with the change. Conan was not. He would not agree to the move.

Conan was then taken off the hosting duties of The Tonight Show, Leno was given the hosting duties back, and Conan walked out of NBC without a job and a severance of $45 million to pay himself and his staff who were laid off.

This led to bad blood between the two hosts. So much so that after Conan had his new show on TBS, he was still taking shots at Leno.

Conan O'Brien's Comments About Jay Leno Continued Months After Nearly Getting Canceled

Conan O'Brien refused to ever have Jay Leno on the TBS show Conan

Several months after O'Brien's time at NBC and with The Tonight Show were over, he moved to TBS to do his late-night show, Conan. While the show did not garner the same audience O'Brien had when he was hosting Late Night, he was able to grab a young audience, something that The Tonight Show could not do.

As the show was just getting underway, O'Brien claimed that he was no longer "bitter" about what happened with NBC and Leno. But when asked if he would ever consider having Leno on his show, it was clear that there were still some unhappy feelings being harbored by O'Brien.

"He can come as the musical guest, because that I want to see," O'Brien joked. "No one knows he has an operatic range."

He went on to say, "No, there are certain things I will not do, regardless of the price."

There have never been any reports of Leno and O'Brien reconciling. As such, it appears that along with the feud tarnishing both of their legacies, their mutual distaste for one another remains today.