When Jay Leno 'Banned' This Veteran Comedian From 'The Tonight Show'

When Jay Leno took over The Tonight Show as host in 1992, he found himself in a difficult predicament. After finishing his tenure as host, Johnny Carson announced his retirement but not before he placed one restriction. He prohibited comedian Joan Rivers from returning to the live show. For years, Rivers was unable to secure a place on the show given her fallout with Carson. Leno later explained that he 'banned' Rivers out of respect for Carson. In an interview with Access Hollywood in 2014, he admitted, "I didn't want to do it while Johnny was alive out of respect for Johnny...I don't think he wanted to see her on the show and that's why we didn't do it." 

As per E! News, when host Billy Bush, enquired, "When you took over, you kept the ban alive. Joan never appeared. Why was that?... And then after he passed was it just too awkward?" Leno admitted that it had indeed got a little awkward. He shared, "Joan was sort of going on and on about me, and I thought, 'Let's let the ground lie fallow for a while and see what happens,' but she always kind of kept it going. And I like Joan. I mean that was the first autograph I ever got was Joan Rivers. I'm a comedian, I went to see her at the Chateau De Ville in Framingham and we were friends, and by then it just got to be awkward and we just never did it."

As per The Things, the feuding began when Rivers secured a regular guest hosting position in 1983 with Carson's endorsement. However, when she soon made a name for herself and was allowed to host her talk show -The Joan Rivers Show, on the Fox network, in 1986, Carson felt betrayed that she had chosen to compete against him. Rivers was ultimately banned by the veteran show host, and the two friends never spoke again. 

As per Variety, Rivers returned to the NBC show after almost 30 years when Jimmy Fallon took over as host in March 2014. Rivers’ return was particularly significant as it came 49 years after her first appearance on the show. “It was a double thrill for me to help welcome Jimmy on his first night. The program brought me great luck, and I know it will do the same for him,” Rivers said. “He’s the consummate entertainer whose reign as host, I predict, will surpass any of his predecessors." 

“Being in the studio brought back the most wonderful, wonderful memories of the night that jump-started my career,” Rivers shared. “So when people ask me, ‘Why was last night different from all other nights?’ I’ll tell them that it certainly beats Passover!” The late comedian concluded, “It’s about time! I’ve been sitting in a taxi outside NBC with the meter running since 1987.” Rivers passed away in September 2014 at the age of 81.