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That's the thing--he was new and very much a third-party, and he decided to push himself right into the middle of everything. Someone else might see this differently, but he was invited onto Leno's failed show as a peace offering (and, true, a little self-serving manipulation by Leno), and Kimmel completely ambushed him.
― clemenza, Sunday, October 13, 2019 5:20 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink
Jay wanted a chummy "welp, gee-whiz, we're all in this wacky show business together! Whaddya gonna do?" segment -- because taking back a show you left on your own terms (as he claimed at the time) because your new show is tanking is just how showbiz goes! -- and Kimmel wasn't entirely a third-party:
According to Kimmel, Leno had some years prior been in serious discussions with ABC about the possibility of jumping ship from NBC. During this period, Leno initiated a friendship with Kimmel, wanting to ensure that they would be on good terms if the move was made. (Under that scenario, Leno would have taken Kimmel's time slot and become his lead-in.) However, after Leno made the arrangement to remain at NBC, "those conversations were gone," according to Kimmel. Realizing that Leno's relationship with him had been artificial, Kimmel felt "worked over," reasoning that Leno was using the ABC discussions as a bargaining tactic to try to get his old job back.[166]
What reason could Kimmel possibly have for going along with a smug, smirky, shruggy-ass bullshit comedy bit like that?
(fwiw, I never liked Kimmel, nor ever found him the least bit funny, but compared to Leno, he's Richard Pryor)
nine months pass...
two years pass...
eight months pass...