Summary
- Conan O'Brien turned down a $28 million offer from FOX to follow his dream of hosting The Tonight Show, even though NBC offered him only $8 million.
- O'Brien's decision was not based on money but on his desire to maintain his legacy and body of work.
- Fans applauded O'Brien for prioritizing his dream over money and showed support for him during the Jay Leno controversy.
He is among the most beloved late night show hosts of the current generation. Conan O'Brien has a big fanbase, but he has gone through controversy behind the scenes. In fact, he wouldn't interview Jay Leno, "regardless of the price."
In the following, we're going to take a look at the massive offer Conan O'Brien turned his back on, and it was all because of wanting to follow his dream, and keep his legacy intact. Fans had nothing but positives to say after O'Brien made his major reveal during his chat with Howard Stern.
We'll look back at the rejected offer, and whether Conan has any regrets.
Conan O'Brien Turned Down $28 Million From FOX, For $8 Million From NBC, Which Came With Hosting The Tonight Show
Howard Stern and Conan O'Brien had yet another great interview together, discussing the highs and lows of Conan's career along the way. Among the lows, was turning down a major deal with FOX, just so he could follow his dream of hosting The Tonight Show. In doing so, Stern recalled the major offer Conan turned down.
Stern said, "People don't understand another thing. There was a point when FOX TV came to you and said something crazy, we're going to give you $28 million. NBC heard about it, and they said to you, well, we're going to give you $8 million, but we'll give you The Tonight Show when Jay retires."
Stern went on to discuss that given O'Brien's fixation on hosting The Tonight Show, and how rare it was, he turned the offer down.
Conan's response to Stern's comments got fans on his side. O'Brien said, "I never made a decision during my career based on money. Not once. I'm not going to lie, it's nice to have money, but I've also had no money, and I'm okay with that."
Conan went on to say that all he really wanted was his "body of work." He felt as though leaving NBC might tarnish his legacy and past work with the network.
Looking back at the interview, fans had nothing but praise for Conan's genuine response to what had taken place, and why he rejected the offer.
Fans Applauded Conan O'Brien For Chasing His Dream And Not The Money
Posted on The Howard Stern Show YouTube channel, Conan O'Brien received lots of support from fans for his statement. It only added to his popularity with the online community.
Conan O'Brien on the red carpet
The top comments wrote, "Conan is the opposite of living in a bubble that most of celebrites do, not knowing anything about real world. God I love this intelligent, humble and funny human being."
"Ah, that's why I love Conan... so mature, so intelligent, so articulate, so measured. He is a true role model."
"Conan is one of the best people to have in the public eye. If he works for you then you are fortunate indeed. A great human and a giver of his soul."
Another fan notes that Conan being able to get his footage from NBC and post it online was another blessing.
"That Conan was able to get access to all his NBC footage and post those, is probably the best use of his 'cards' he's ever played."
The Jay Leno situation was certainly a major deal looking back, and something that O'Brien is still talking about in interviews these days.
Conan O'Brien Appreciated The Support From Fans Following The Forgettable Ordeal With Jay Leno
Speaking alongside Adweek in 2022, O'Brien discussed the fiasco on the Tonight Show. Looking back, Conan admits he really didn't know how to feel.
"At this point, even beginning to try and explain to people all the different ways in which I thought that was a screwed-up situation — and in some ways unjust — is absolutely asinine and feels completely stupid and self-indulgent," O'Brien said. "But it was really important to me."
Conan would also reveal that the "internet fans" played a major role in providing the backlash when Jay Leno returned.
"I will admit to you, I am not a seer. I'm not a tech visionary. I'm not a revolutionary thinker. Talk about luck: I happen to exist at a time when the internet at that point, 2010, is really starting to flex its muscles. There was this explosion online, and that took me completely by surprise. I didn't see it coming," O'Brien recalled.
"I remember at the time, there were people at NBC that—I always picture them in their black tower, going: [shocked indignation] 'How is he doing this? Release another falcon. Stop him!'"
"That was a lot of young people who thought it was bulls***. And they use the internet, so they went to town, which led to this grassroots movement. From there it was immediately this feeling of: 'Let's do a show for these people."
In the end, the snub didn't impact O'Brien's career negatively and, if anything, it made fans love him that much more.
