Jay Leno bashes NBC (again) in 'Tonight Show' monologue

Jay Leno bashes NBC (again) in ‘Tonight Show’ monologue

By Meredith Blake

March 28, 2013 12 AM PT

That didn’t last long: After a few days of peace, Jay Leno returned to NBC-bashing Wednesday on “The Tonight Show.”

Amid rampant rumors he’s about to be replaced by Jimmy Fallon and that late-night’s No. 1 show will be moving back east, Leno made fun of the network’s well-chronicled ratings woes. After noting that NBC was back in a tenuous No. 2 position, thanks to the return of “The Voice” and “Revolution,” he joked that “between Easter and Passover, this is truly the season of miracles.”

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Then Leno opted for a little toilet humor: “I’ve been saying that for the last week, that NBC is a big No. 2. Congratulations.” (Cue the groans.)

It wasn’t until later in the monologue that the knives really came out. “Speaking of T-Mobile, they announced yesterday they’re doing away with contracts,” Leno said. “So apparently they got the idea from NBC.”

The latest round in the decades-long late-night wars began last Monday, when Leno slammed NBC executives as “snakes” in his monologue -- quite a diss coming from a guy viewed as a loyal network footsoldier. The unusually sharply barbed jokes made more sense once reports emerged that Leno was about to be replaced by Fallon and “The Tonight Show” relocated to a brand-spanking new studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

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After another potshot in last Wednesday’s show, Leno held his tongue for a few days, but it now looks like the truce with NBC is officially over.

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