Jimmy Fallon Addresses Tonight Show Rumors, Jay Leno Jokes NBC Is "Extinct"

USMagazine, Thursday, March 21, 2013, 9:40am (PDT)

Let the jokes continue! A New York Times report emerged on Wednesday, March 20 that NBC executives are planning to replace Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

What did Leno and Fallon have to say about that? The two comedians addressed the rumors on The Tonight Show and Late Night Wednesday by cracking a few jokes.

"Before we get started, I have to talk about the rumors that started today that I'll be moving up to 11:30," Fallon, 38, told his audience. "Or as my parents call it, 'Still too late!' Actually the rumors are true, NBC is turning the Tonight Show into a diving competition —- so exciting."

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Leno, 62, however, was a little less subtle in expressing his opinion of NBC. "According to several reports, scientists say they are getting closer and closer to being able to do Jurassic Park-style cloning of extinct species," he said. "Imagine that —- things that were once thought to be extinct could be brought back from the dead. So there's hope for NBC. It could turn around."

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The comedian has had tumultuous relationship with the network, and called its executives "snakes" on Monday. "You know the whole legend of St. Patrick, right?" he asked the audience in his opening monologue. "St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland -- and then they came to the United States and became NBC executives. It's a fascinating story."

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But Leno may have nothing to lose with his jibes. According to The New York Times report, he will be replaced by Fallon by the fall of 2014 "at the latest." One senior executive said "there is no way on earth that this is not going to happen."

 

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Jimmy Fallon Addresses Tonight Show Rumors, Jay Leno Jokes NBC Is "Extinct"