Category - Tv
Andy Richter Recalls Awkward Breakfast With Jay Leno After 'Tonight Show' Debacle
Andy Richter was recently "unmasked" on the Fox reality competition series The Masked Singer as a fluffy pink "Dust Bunny" creature. But in a somewhat awkward moment, panelist Rita Ora initially guessed based on the clues—that the singer interviews people and collects cars—that it was Jay Leno inside the costume, whom Ritcher has a, shall we say, a strained history with.
But as it turns out, the 2010 Tonight Show debacle, in which Richter's co-host Conan O'Brien succeeded Leno, who then turned around and took the reigns back seven months later, is now evidently water under the bridge between the two men.
In a conversation with Cinemablend following last week's episode, Richter recalled running into Leno while out grabbing breakfast years later and actually dining together.
"I think it was sort of just when it was based on the clues, which I can't blame her, and honestly … it didn't bother me, you know?" the 57-year-old explained. "Yeah, it's a complicated history, but I actually sat down at the diner counter a couple of years ago and it was a busy Sunday morning at a very popular restaurant in Burbank. And there was one seat left at the counter, and I sat down, and I turned to my right and there was Jay Leno eating breakfast."
"So it was like, 'Well, I guess we're gonna chat now.' And it was fine, you know, I mean, all of that showbiz rivalry is like high school rivalry," he added. "Once you're past it, it's not that important."
However, while Richter may have moved past the controversy, it's unclear whether the same can be said for O'Brien. Though the late night host has spoken out about a few times over the years about what hosting The Tonight Show had meant to him, and how depressing it was to lose it, he's never directly addressed his relationship with Leno. One would have to imagine there's a good chance it's still rather frosty.