Jay Leno made an epic return to the stage just two weeks after suffering third degree burns in a car explosion.
Leno arrived at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California, in the most impactful way, joking about his accident as he prepared to take the stage. “We got two shows tonight, regular and extra crispy,” Leno said, according to TMZ.
Jay Leno made his return Sunday night to a standup comedy stage, just 2 weeks after a horrible garage fire accident, and outside the club he grazed a cop car with his Tesla. https://t.co/tgfFMKsJzV
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 28, 2022
But even before taking the stage, the former “Tonight Show” host was already in top comedic form. While pulling up to the club, he grazed a police cruiser’s tire with his Tesla and was stopped and questioned by police, according to TMZ. He dropped some one-liners at his own expense and the media swarmed around him to catch a glimpse of his facial burns and ask questions about the fire that left him scarred. “Never thought of myself as a roast comic,” Leno joked.
On his way out of the club, Leno claimed that the car he grazed was part of a film production, not a real cop car, according to a video posted by TMZ.
Leno, a long-time car enthusiast and collector, was working on one of his vintage cars in his garage on Nov. 13 when the fuel line burst. Half his face and a portion of his upper body caught fire, and he was rushed to the hospital for immediate medical assistance. His injuries included second and third-degree burns on his face, neck, arm and hands. He underwent skin grafts at the Grossman Burn Center, according to TMZ. Leno also received treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. (RELATED: )Nurse Who Allegedly Set Hospital Worker On Fire Found Dead By Police
Jay Leno was seen cruising in a vintage Bentley around L.A. this Thanksgiving weekend — ahead of his first performance at a comedy club since the fire. https://t.co/d3K5a1BpuF
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 27, 2022
The comedian seemed to be in good spirits and shrugged off the severity of his injuries. A reporter asked who his main source of inspiration was while he recovered from his injuries. “I got burned, I was in hospital for a few days, and now I’m back out working again, people do this every day,” Leno said. When asked what gave him “the strength” to return to the stage, the comedian laughed off the question. “There’s no strength. You just tell stupid jokes,” he said in a video posted by TMZ.