Jay Leno Mocks Rumors Jimmy Fallon's Replacing Him at The Tonight Show

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by Josh Grossberg | Fri., Mar. 22, 2013 6:39 AM

NBC

When faced with job stress, Jay Leno does what he does best: mine it for laughs.

With reports surfacing that his bosses at NBC plan to have Jimmy Fallon succeed him at The Tonight Show starting in September 2014, the funnyman cracked about getting the boot in his monologue Thursday night.

"Are you all excited about March Madness?" asked Leno. "Are you all into March Madness? People are talking about who's in, who's out, who's gonna be eliminated. And that's just here at NBC. I've never been in the paper this much. It's fantastic."

As it happens, the 62-year-old comic has been poking fun at the peacock network all week over the topic of his purported departure.

NBC replacing Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon is most likely scenario, says source

Fallon made light of the stories himself on Wednesday's Late Night, quipping, "The rumors are true…NBC is turning the Tonight Show into a diving competition"—a nod, of course, to ABC's new reality show Splash.

As for what's going on behind the scenes, according to The Hollywood Reporter NBC honcho Robert Greenblatt took Leno to dinner last night to discuss his future once his contract is up.

The news comes as the New York Post quotes Steve Pruett, the head of Fox's affiliate board who represents most of the network's affiliate stations, as saying he'd like to see Jay launch a new late-night show on Fox in the 11 p.m. time slot.

So far, no official announcement has been made regarding Leno's future.

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