Jay Leno on Oprah

(video courtesy of CelebTV.com)

If you were lucky enough to be at home today, you got to enjoy some high-quality daytime TV when there was an appearance by Jay Leno on Oprah. This was the former king of late-night TV’s first official interview since the whole drama with Conan O’Brien went down. And most of the audience, and Leno himself, seemed to expect a sympathetic Oprah. Instead, she gave him the gears.

It was a pleasure to watch, for those siding with Conan in this whole thing. And apparently lots of us are siding with O’Brien. While Leno shifted uncomfortably in his seat, Oprah told him that in a poll of their viewers, fully 96% of them said they were on Conan’s side.

And one would assume that Leno’s Oprah appearance hasn’t won the comedian any new fans. When she asked him if stealing the Tonight Show back from Conan was a selfish move, Leno answered: “To me, retiring seemed like the selfish thing to do.”

And throughout it all, Leno seemed a bit surprised at all the furor this whole issue has caused. And, to a certain extent, he’s right. There has been a lot of anger directed at him, especially considering that Conan’s ratings on the Tonight Show were brutal. But, while clearly O’Brien doesn’t have millions of fans, the ones he does have are particularly rabid.