Jay Leno Thinks Jimmy Fallon Is Doing A ‘Terrific Job’
Jay Leno doesn’t have any hard feelings toward Jimmy Fallon. In fact, Leno thinks the former Saturday Night Live cast member is doing a fantastic job at the helm of The Tonight Show.
Although some people might have trouble settling into retirement after spending 20 years on a popular television series, apparently Jay Leno is thoroughly enjoying the experience. Not only does the guy enjoy his time away from the small screen, he also think his replacement has made the late-night talk show his own.
“He’s a great friend of mine and I think he is doing a terrific job. At some point you realize it is time to step down… I’m having a good time now,” Leno explained during a chat with The Associated Press.
Jay is also glad he doesn’t have to keep up with everything under the pop culture sun. He added, “You don’t have to watch ‘Noah’ and all these other films, these kinds of kid movies. You get to a certain age where ‘Okay, I’m over the superhero thing.’ I don’t have to do that anymore so that’s fantastic!”
During his chat with Entertainment Weekly last year, Jimmy Fallon said he received from friendly words of advice from the former Tonight Show host. Although Leno apparently didn’t have any doubt about Fallon’s ability, he wanted to give the guy a few tips to make the transition as easy as possible.
“Longer monologues. I was doing about a three-, four-minute monologue. He was like, ‘Make it like seven, eight minutes.’ He said some people don’t have time to see the news and they catch up on the news from your monologue sometimes,” Jimmy said of Jay’s advice.
He continued, “We’ve been doing it for the past three months, up to eight, nine minutes. We’re adding video into the monologue now and more graphics, making it more exciting to watch the first 15 minutes of the show.”
So what does Jay Leno do with all this free time? During his interview with the AP, Leno said he’s put his support behind a number of political causes. However, the comedian said that he doesn’t plan to become a huge political activist at any point in the near future.
Leno recently joined the anti-Sharia protest at the Beverly Hills Hotel, owned by the Sultan of Brunei. The Sultan recently announced the imposition of Sharia Law on the tiny oil rich nation, including “laws that will enact harsh punishments for homosexuality, abortions and adultery.”
Leno told the Los Angeles Times:
“This is 2014, not 1814. Evil flourishes when good people do nothing, and that is pretty much what this is. This is not complicated. These are not crazy left-wing wacko people. I mean, we get so upset when a team owner says something inappropriate. Here are people being killed, stoned to death. … It’s just a matter of priorities, that’s what it is.”
Mr. Leno added:
“I’m a huge supporter of Israel and always have been. It is a democracy in the Middle East and I don’t like to see the little guy getting picked on by the big guy.”
Do you miss Jay Leno on The Tonight Show? Do you think Jimmy Fallon is doing a “terrific job” as host?
[Image via NBC]
