The internet is hot with speculation about Jay Leno. Back in November, he sports an eyepatch for a black eye and his incredibly swollen and bruised face. When TMZ asks what happened, he gives a pretty straightforward explanation that he fell down a hill, hit his head on a rock, and knocked his eye. However, skeptics online weren't exactly buying it. They suggest that gambling debts are to blame and that the mob beat him up over it. Now, Leno is setting the record straight.
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Recently, Jay Leno spoke with Bill Maher on his Club Random podcast. The pair cover a lot of things, his chaotic sleep schedule, politics, and the big injuries he suffered. When it comes to the internet's theories, the late night host finds the humor in their questioning. He's just glad that these shadowy mob figures didn't target his rides. ""Well, I like the idea that they wouldn't just take one of my cars for the gambling debt," Leno says.
Jay Leno Swears He Has No Mafia Affiliation... Currently
Then, Jay puts a halt on all the jokes and insists that he has no affiliations with any mob or the mafia. However, he does recall a run-in with one member during his early days as a comic. "I was pretty smart. I remember years ago, I was at [the East Coast-based comedy club] Catch a Rising Star, and I was onstage, and this guy — a mob guy — comes up to me afterwards and he goes, 'Hey, you're a funny kid. You're a funny kid,'" Leno recalls.
"He takes $100 and he puts it in my pocket," Jay Leno continues "I say, 'Oh thank you.' I say, 'Look, I don't mean any disrespect, but, you know, give it to the church or something ... I'm okay, but thank you.' And he says to me, 'You know, you're a smart kid. You don't take money from people like me. That's smart.' And nobody ever bothered me again."
Lastly, Jay insists that he doesn't gamble and doesn't enjoy it or see the value in it. ""Losing 100 bucks makes me feel stupider than winning one thousand makes me feel good. Because I go, 'I could have taken my wife to dinner,'" Leno states.
