Jay Leno's injuries over the years explored as former late night host dismisses concerns

Pain seems to be no concern for comedian Jay Leno, who, despite suffering a slew of serious injuries over the past few years, maintains his characteristic charm and humor. During his appearance on the April 24 episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the comedian and former The Tonight Show host recalled the various injuries he has suffered over the years, dismissing concerns over his well-being with his hallmark devil-may-care attitude.

When Graham Bensinger asked Leno about his injuries, the comedian said,

“You know, people get banged up in real jobs all the time.”

Bensinger went on to describe and ask Leno about his 2024 fall, saying,

“But, so this Greenberg Palace Theater show, what happens before it, and how do you still do the show?”

As per Men’s Journal, in November 2024, Jay Leno fell 60 feet down a hill outside the Pennsylvania hotel he was staying at. He banged his head on a rock during the fall and also broke his wrist. Despite the severity of his injuries, Leno went on to perform his scheduled show that very night before seeking medical attention. He was even spotted wearing an eye patch at the time to cover up his bruised and sealed eye.

---

Leno discusses the 2024 fall

Leno went on to nonchalantly describe why he decided to go on with the show that night to Bensinger. He said,

“I had a show to do, I mean you have an audience waiting there. What do you go, ‘Excuse me, oh I I banged my head.’”

Continuing, Leno described his injuries from the fall and added,

“My eyes sealed shut, and I thought, ‘oh I’m blind in one eye.’ All right all right, well let me just see what, I’m still gonna be a comedian, so I was comedian with one eye. And then three days later, oh it opened, I was like, ‘Oh it's great this is fantastic.’ But yeah that was pretty funny, I fell down that stupid hill…I broke my wrist, I think I cracked some, but not too bad. But yeah my face got all just really bashed in, yeah.”

Leno even went on to share that while on stage, he has observed that many performers, including him, stop feeling pain, and that’s what happened that night when he went on to perform.

The Inside Edition had caught up with the comedian when he was injured from the fall back in 2024. Leno, while wearing an eye patch, spoke to the news outlet at the time and said,

“I broke my wrist, lost the nail on the finger and then I'm all I'm all black and blue.”

---

Jay Leno suffered serious burns while working in his garage

In 2022, Jay Leno, who carries a deep love for cars, caught fire while working on one of his vintage cars. Today reported that Leno had gone under the car to check the fuel line, which was clogged. He asked his friend to “blow some air through the line,” after which Leno shared that the pilot light jumped and his face caught fire.

The comedian chose to go home to his wife first before getting treatment, which took 9 days and included a stay in a hyperbaric chamber, according to Today. The news outlet noted that Leno suffered burns on his face, chest, and hands. While recounting the accident to Today, Leno displayed his characteristic nonchalance and light-hearted humor, saying,

“When you look like me, you don’t really worry about what you look like. Look, if I’m George Clooney, it’s going to be a huge problem. But they said it would be alright so, you know my attitude is I trust people who are the best to do what they do.”

During the recent conversation with Bensinger, which was taking place at Leno’s garage, where he had caught on fire, Leno again gave his recovery a humorous spin. When Benginsger questioned what the most difficult part of the process was, Leno said,

“Answering the phone.”

Then he went on to hilariously mimic picking up the phone repeatedly to assure his well-wishers that he was fine.

---

Jay Leno’s motorcycle accident

Merely months after his recovery from the fire incident, Jay Leno broke his collarbone and two ribs and cracked both of his kneecaps in a motorcycle accident, as per E! News.

As per Today, Leno, while describing the accident, told NBC News,

“So I turn around, I start to cut through a parking lot. And there was a wire across two poles which was not well marked and boom, I just got — it clotheslined me, hit me in the neck and threw me off the bike.”

E! News reported that while honoring his doctor, Dr. Grossman, Leno recounted his conversation with the plastic surgeon after his accident. Leno said,

“I called Dr. Grossman and I said, ‘Listen, I need another face. The other face you got was great, but I just need another’…So I guess I am officially a two-faced b*st*rd now.”

It’s clear that in addition to being a comedian, Jay Leno is a proper daredevil.