Jay Leno paid the price by appearing on comedian Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast.
The former Tonight Show host debunked a rumor that his facial injuries were a result of a mob beating over a gambling debt.
In November, Leno revealed that he fell 60 feet down a hill outside the hotel and suffered a broken wrist and severe bruising to his face and body.
Hours after the fall, the acclaimed stand-up comedian took to the stage to perform wearing an eye patch.
Jay Leno suffered a broken wrist, bruised face after fall but still performed live before going to hospital
Jay Leno suffered a nasty fall in November. (Getty Images)
Maher asked Leno about the rumors, and Jay responded, “Well, I like the idea that they’re not just taking one of my cars to pay off a gambling debt.”
Leno is a long-time car enthusiast and is known to have hundreds of collector cars in his personal garage worth millions of dollars.
Jay Leno ‘feels good’ despite face injury from fall
However, he does remember his encounters with the Mafia when he was a young comedian.
“I’m smart,” he said. “I remember a few years ago, I was on Catch a Star, and I was on stage, and this guy – a gangster guy – came up to me and he said, ‘Hey, you’re a funny kid. You He’s an interesting kid.
Shortly after the fall in November, Leno made a peace sign while driving. (mega)
“He took $100 and put it in my pocket. I said, ‘Oh, thank you.’ “I said, ‘Look, I don’t mean any disrespect, but, you know, hand it over. Give it to a church or something…I’m fine with that, but thank you. He said to me, “You know, you’re a smart kid, you’re not going to take money from people like me, that’s smart.” And then no one bothered me anymore.
While Leno admits he’s never been in any trouble, he’s witnessed mobsters “kick the shit out of comics” because of how “smart” they are on stage.
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He doesn’t understand these rumors either, just because he doesn’t like losing money.
“I don’t gamble,” Leno admits. “Losing $100 makes me feel stupider, and winning $1,000 makes me feel good. Because I think, ‘I could have taken my wife to dinner.'”
Jay Leno has hundreds of rare and collectible cars in his Burbank garage. (Walker Dalton)
Last month, the comedian told “Insider Edition” He fell 60 feet down a rocky hill and suffered a broken wrist, severe bruising to his face and body and missing fingernails.
His hotel fall was just the latest in a series of incidents traumatic event Leno’s motorcycle was also “crashed” in January 2023.
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Leno suffered two broken ribs, a broken kneecap and collarbone after being clotheslined while riding his motorcycle through a parking lot.
“I turned down an alley and walked through a parking lot, and without my knowledge, someone had pulled a wire across the parking lot, but there was no flag hanging on it,” Leno told reporters. las vegas review magazine.
“I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just laid me dry and then, boom, knocked me off the bike. The bike kept going and you know how that turned out.”
In November 2022, Jay Leno revealed the burns he suffered in a garage fire as he left the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills. (Grossman Burn Center)
Leno suffered third-degree burns in a gasoline fire in 2022 and underwent multiple surgeries. Leno reportedly suffered severe burns He suffered injuries to his face, hands and chest while working under a car in his Burbank-area garage.
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Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
