Why Jay Leno Is An Asshole And You Should Stop Watching His Show
By fred | January 7, 2008
I do not hate Jay Leno. No, wait, let me rephrase this one a bit. I do hate Jay Leno. With all my guts.
What I meant there was that only a few days ago, I did not hate Jay Leno. A week ago, I had nothing against Leno. I liked him, I thought he was a good guy, that he could be funny and, while not a fan, I used to watch his show (months ago, when it aired) from to time, and I usually liked it. Really, it was all fine by then. And when he announced and explained why he was going to bring back his Tonight Show on the air, I said that for him like for all others who were doing the same, I understood the special situation they were in and was even willing to support them, in that case.
I meant every word, none of this changed. But when they actually went back on the air, and after I saw Leno’s monologue, I pretty much started to insult him. And I know I already addressed this then, and then when I called him a scumbag, but there’s more to that, a lot more !
And it is true that maybe insults aren’t so nice, and I understand that maybe you like Leno and don’t appreciate me calling him names, but this is my blog after all, and the point here isn’t for me just to report about things or what I saw, but to let you know how I feel about them. So yeah, when it comes to this story, I will add a few F words here and there a lot, to really show you how pissed I am at this big fat disgusting asshole…
When I saw Leno do his monologue, something that was clearly against the strike rule of the WGA, I did insult him. And the worst part of it wasn’t even that he did break the rules knowingly, but that he lied to the public trying to pass himself as the good guy. He said he was writing his own jokes which was part of the Guild’s rules although he perfectly knew it was not the case, but he didn’t care.
He said he was supporting the writers, but the truth is that he doesn’t care about the writers, or the strike, the only thing that mattered to him was to do his jokes, to please NBC, to do well in ratings and to beat Letterman. None of the rest matters, and certainly not the writers and their strike.
There’s definite proof of that, but just before I get into it, and I know I did mention this already, but I have to mention it again because it is a perfect illustration of Leno’s lies : while proudly breaking the rules and lying about his, he also mentioned Letterman and the fact that he had a deal. And when he did, he dared to say that he “did not blame him” for making that deal !!
Why did he say such a monstrous thing ? Because he knows that he’s addressing a pretty wide audience, one that may not fully be aware of the strike and all that’s happening, one that may not be aware that the strike rules forbid him or any writers to write anything, even for himself. And because the audience did not know this was a violation of the rules he lied to them and claimed it was not, and portrayed himself as the good guy, even passing Letterman as the bad guy.
But Letterman did nothing bad, quite the opposite : Letterman gave the writers exactly what they’re asking for ! Letterman’s writers aren’t crossing picket lines, they aren’t breaking nay rules, they are going back to work as part of a deal signed with the WGA that grant them all they’re asking for, a deal that was made by the WGA as part of their own new strategy to “divide and conquer”. If anything, Letterman in a “hero” for being the first to prove that writers aren’t asking for things that are out of proportions and can’t be granted. If Worldwide Pants can sign such a deal, you better be sure Disney can, too.
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Late Night Shows Are Back, Part VI : Stewart » I Watch TV!
On the 9/19/08 episode of the Tonight Show, Jay Leno was telling a joke about the babies dying in China due to the tainted baby formula and how it was terrible, because now that meant that China would be unable to staff a shoe making factory. The joke was not only tasteless, but offensive. Jokes about dying babies have no place on TV or on any of society’s medias. NBC does not have an adequate forum for complaints on their website. If you wish to “voice your opinion” they offer a demographic poll, but nothing more.