Jay Leno Appears On First Talk Show Since Burn & Motorcycle Accidents

The Kelly Clarkson Show / YouTube

Back in November, Jay Leno suffered third degree burn to his face after a fire erupted in his garage while he and a friend, Dave, were working on his classic cars. They were fixing a clogged fuel line of his 1907 White steam car when gasoline sprayed on his face and hands.

Shortly after, there was a spark that “triggered an explosion.” Luckily, Dave was close by to smother Leno to put the fire out quickly. The comic was take to the Grossmont Burn Center, where he spent ten days due to needing two surgeries and skin grafts.

Two weeks after the accident, he was back on stage! He performed at Hermosa Beach’s The Comedy and Magic Club on Nov. 27. While walking into the venue, Leno told reporters, “I never thought of myself as a roast comic. We have two shows tonight — regular and extra crispy.”

At the end of January, Leno was doing an interview with Las Vegas Review Journal about returning to Vegas in March when he revealed that he was recovering from a motorcycle accident.

Reporter John Katsilometes asked Leno, “How are you doing, especially after the accident?”

Of course, Katsilometes was referring to the fire. But Leno replied, “It’s so funny you should say that. That was the first accident. OK? Then just last week, I got knocked off my motorcycle. So I’ve got a broken collarbone. I’ve got two broken ribs. I’ve got two cracked kneecaps.”

The former Tonight Show host revealed he was testing out his 1940 Indian motorcycle on January 17th when he turned down a side street to cut through a parking lot.

Leno said, “Unbeknownst to me, some guy had a wire strung across the parking lot but with no flag hanging from it. So, you know, I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just clothesline me and, boom, knocked me off the bike. The bike kept going, and you know how that works out.”

Well, it has been a few weeks since that accident and Leno has made his first talk show appearance since everything happened! He stopped by The Kelly Clarkson Show, where he has previously guest hosted, to chat with the Emmy-winning talk show host and singer.

The two caught up, seeing as they hadn’t actually seen each other in a while. Leno hosted the show for Clarkson when she had COVID, and when he was supposed to be a guest on the show, he got in the motorcycle accident. Leno joked that he had a “new face” before telling the audience the story of how he acquired the new face.

All jokes aside, he really does look great and if you didn’t know about the burns, you would barely be able to see them! See his interview below.