Jay Leno Says He Has A ‘Brand New Face’ After Suffering Major Burns In Garage Fire

The former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno suffered third degree burns in a fire that took place in his garage in Burbank, California back in November. While appearing on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on Wednesday, the 72 year-old comedian joked that he has a “brand new face” in the wake of this incident.

Leno’s ‘Brand-New Face’

Daily Mail reported that Leno received a standing ovation as host Kelly Clarkson explained that he’d had to miss their last scheduled interview because of the fire.

“You look great though,” she said, to which he replied, “This is a brand-new face.”

“It is, it’s unbelievable,” he continued. “What happened, I was working on a car and I got a full face of gasoline and it caught fire. And I had been eating a flaming hot Dorito and when I bit into it, it set my face on…”

“It was interesting,” Leno added. “It was all third-degree burns, it was pretty bad. It was pretty bad.”

Check out Leno’s full comments on this in the video below.

Related: Jay Leno Breaks His Silence About Serious Burn Injuries – ‘My Face Was On Fire’

Leno’s Fire

Leno was working under one of his vintage cars in his garage in Burbank, California with his friend Dave Killackey when the fire broke out on November 12. 

“It was a 1907 White Steam Car,” Leno previously recalled. “The fuel line was clogged so I was underneath it. It sounded clogged and I said, ‘Blow some air through the line,’ and suddenly, boom, I got a face full of gas. And then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire.”

“It felt exactly like my face was on fire,” he added, according to People Magazine. “Maybe like the most intense sunburn you’ve ever had, that’d be fair to say.”

Leno shut his eyes and held his breath as he tried to get out from underneath the car.

“I’m not a panicky guy, but I knew if I breathed in I could scorch my lungs,” he said. “I was under the car maybe 10 seconds before Dave pulled me out. Any longer than that I could have lost my eye.”

One month after the fire, Leno told the Wall Street Journal that “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,” he explained. “You have to joke about it. There’s nothing worse than whiny celebrities.”

Related: Jay Leno Says ‘There’s Nothing Worse Than Whiny Celebrities’ As He Opens Up About His Facial Burns

Leno’s Motorcycle Accident

Things got even worse back for Leno back in January, when he was “clotheslined” while riding his motorcycle, leaving him with a broken collarbone and multiple broken ribs. 

“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,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “So, you know, I didn’t see it until it was too late.” 

Despite everything that he’s been through, Leno has already returned to performing standup weekly at his local comedy club, where he’s been performing on Sundays for over 30 years. Leno has shown the world just how resilient he is over the past few months, and we pray for his continued recovery from his injuries in the months to come!