Jay Leno Takes Center Stage on ‘Tonight Show'

Viewers watching Wednesday’s “Tonight Show” episode might have thought there was a rerun or that Jay Leno unseated Jimmy Fallon as the host.

While performing his opening monologue, Fallon allowed Leno to take center stage -- a familiar spot for the former “Tonight Show” host who started in 1992.

“The monologue has to go on,” Fallon said after “pulling something” making a joke. So he tagged Leno in. The former host quickly jumped into a joke about Bill Clinton’s unreliability in supporting his wife, a crack at Bill’s sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.

“Hillary said she’s been tested,” Leno said. “Well I hope so, you never know what Bill might bring home.”

After a few other jokes on the sexual activities of presidential hopefuls Leno said, “I don’t care. They can’t fire me.”

Aside from doing Fallon’s job, Leno sat in the guest seat to talk about his experience hosting the Nobel Peace Prize concert last year. He noted that a comedian has never held that position and then went on to describe his meeting with the committee’s members. Characterizing them as “Sigmund Freud” types, they warned Leno against making any jokes. But in the end Leno made a few jokes, adding a light note to an otherwise somber ceremony.

Fallon replaced Leno in 2014 and the new host acknowledged Leno’s contribution to the late-night show format.

He recently told NBC that he occasionally catches up with Leno offstage, giving him advice and telling him to "hang in there, keep working hard and keep having fun."

"If you enjoy you it, people can see it," Fallon said.

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