Jay Leno has apparently suffered broken bones in a motorcycle accident just months after being severely burned while working on one of his cars.
The 72-year-old comedian made the revelation while speaking with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, saying the accident happened January 17, but he was reluctant to make a big deal about it because of how recently the fire incident occurred.
“That was the first accident. OK? Then just last week, I got knocked off my motorcycle,” Leno told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday when asked how he was recovering from the fire. “So I’ve got a broken collarbone. I’ve got two broken ribs. I’ve got two cracked kneecaps.”
When the interviewer expressed concern, Leno was quick to reassure him that he was doing well. “I’m OK!” Leno exclaimed. “I’m OK, I’m working. I’m working this weekend.”
The former “Tonight Show” host explained how he was test driving a vintage 1940 Indian motorcycle when he got pulled off by a wire strung across the parking lot. He recalled noticing a leaking gas line, which prompted him to check it out.
“So I turned down a side street and cut through a parking lot, and unbeknownst to me, some guy had a wire strung across the parking lot but with no flag hanging from it,” Leno explained. “So, you know, I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just clothesline[d] me and, boom, knocked me off the bike.”
“The bike kept going, and you know how that works out,” he recounted.
Next, the TV host explained why he kept the incident quiet. “You know, after getting burned up, you get that one for free,” Leno said while laughing. “After that, you’re Harrison Ford, crashing airplanes. You just want to keep your head down.”
The “Tonight Show” host has retained a sense of humor even after suffering second and third-degree burns following a garage fire that occurred in November 2022. He later explained his outlook on the whole thing.
“You have to joke about it. There’s nothing worse than whiny celebrities. If you joke about it, people laugh along with you,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
“But really, it was an accident, that’s all,” he continued. “Anybody who works with their hands on a regular basis is going to have an accident at some point. If you play football, you get a concussion or a broken leg. Anything you do, there’s a risk factor.”