Looks like Jay Leno took breaking a leg a little literally ahead of his Las Vegas return.
Mere months after his horrific facial burn accident, the former “Tonight Show Show” host has gotten yet another boo boo: The comedian broke multiple bones in a freak motorcycle accident last week.
The subject came up when the Las Vegas Review Journal questioned Leno, 72, about the aforementioned fire accident, in which the comedy icon literally “roasted himself” while repairing his car’s fuel line at his garage in Las Angeles.
“That was the first accident, OK?” said the funnyman, who is slated to perform at the Encore Theater for the first time on March 31, marking his first Vegas show since the November accident. “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.”
Leno said that the dejavu-evoking catastrophe occurred on January 17 while he was testing out a 1940 Indian motorcycle. The celebrity gearhead had reportedly smelled leaking fuel — similar to the first accident — and decided to make a pit stop to investigate.
“So I turned down a side street and cut through a parking lot, and unbeknownst to me, some guy had a wire strung across the parking lot but with no flag hanging from it,” the talk show legend told the outlet. “So, you know, I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just clothesline me and, boom, knocked me off the bike.”
Meanwhile, “the bike kept going, and you know how that works out,” lamented Leno, who reportedly remained mum on the accident until now due to the insane amount of coverage surrounding his flaming face fiasco. He didn’t want to add more fuel to the fire, so to speak.
“You know, after getting burned up, you get that one for free,” Leno joked. “After that, you’re Harrison Ford, crashing airplanes. You just want to keep your head down (laughs).”
Thankfully, it appears that Leno’s injuries won’t impact his upcoming shows: “But I’m OK!” the entertainer insisted. “I’m OK, I’m working. I’m working this weekend.”
The bombshell report comes after Leno’s infamous accident in November, in which his head was set alight while he was repairing a 1907 White Steam Car with friend David Killackey.
“The fuel line was clogged, so I was underneath it,” the “Ted 2” star described. “It sounded clogged and I said, ‘Blow some air through the line,’ and so he did.”
Leno said the fuel line made a noise, “and suddenly, boom, I got a face full of gas.
“And then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire,” he recalled.
The New York native was subsequently transported to the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles, where he was treated for third-degree burns on his face, chest and hands during a 10-day stay. Leno also received skin grafts and another surgical procedure.
Thankfully, Leno appeared to be recovering well following the calamity. He even joked about the incident during a standup set at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California shortly after the fiasco.
“I never thought of myself as a roast comic,” the former talk show host quipped. “We have two shows tonight: regular and extra crispy.”
