Jay Leno spotted with eye patch and bruised face after he tumbles down a hill and hits head on rock
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jay Leno is recovering from a fall that left him wearing an eye patch and with bruises on his face.
The 74-year-old comedian spoke about the incident during an interview on Monday, November 18, revealing details about how the accident occurred over the weekend.
Jay Leno recalls the fall that led to his injuries
The mishap happened when Jay Leno was trying to reach a nearby restaurant from his hotel, which was located atop a hill.
“To get to it, I didn’t have a car, so you had to walk about a mile and a half around," Leno said.
#JayLeno's such a badass, he did a comedy gig with an eye patch, a black eye, a bandaged wrist and a swollen face ... after taking a nasty fall near his hotel. 😎 #Exclusive interview here: https://t.co/R60njcKnP9 pic.twitter.com/3GKpl8FBpD
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 19, 2024
"I said, ‘Well, the hill doesn’t look that steep. It’s about 60-70 feet. Let me see if I can go down the hill,’” he told TMZ, recounting the incident.
Leno described how he tumbled down the hill, saying, “I fell down. Boom, boom, boom. I rolled down the hill, hit my head on a rock, knocked me in the eye.”
Jay Leno's accident occurs hours before his scheduled California performance
The accident took place just hours before Jay Leno's scheduled performance at Yaamava' Casino in Southern California.
Despite his injuries, Leno went on to perform at the show and waited until he returned to Los Angeles to seek medical attention.
“The great thing about this age [is] you don’t learn by your mistakes, you just keep doing the same stupid thing," he made light of the situation while referring to his shocking 2022 fire garage incident, People reported.
Jay Leno's 2022 burn accident
This is not the first time Jay Leno has faced injuries. In November 2022, he suffered second and third-degree burns in a garage gasoline fire to the left side of his face including his ear.
The accident occurred when he was working on a 1907 White steam car engine in his garage.
The Burbank Fire Department transported Leno to the Grossman Burn Center, where he underwent surgical excision and grafting procedures.
View this post on Instagram
He had to cancel a scheduled Las Vegas performance as well as all of his engagements for the week.
After spending 10 days at the facility, Leno expressed his gratitude to the medical team.
"Jay would like to let everyone know how thankful he is for the care he received, and is very appreciative of all of the well wishes," doctors at the facility said in a statement at the time.
He also credited his friend Dave for saving his life, "And then, 'Oh, my God.' Dave, my friend, pulled me out and jumped on top of me and kind of smothered the fire,” Leno explained to Hoda Kotb on 'Today' show.