Leno's Jokes Cause an Uproar

Posted Apr 26th 2006 4:23PM by TMZ Staff

Tony award-winning playwright Jeff Whitty doesn't find comedian Jay Leno very funny.

Whitty, writer of the Broadway musical comedy 'Avenue Q,' fired off a letter to 'The Tonight Show' host criticizing Leno's "gay-baiting" jokes.

Whitty is upset over Leno's ongoing quips at the expense of homosexuals. In a letter posted on Whitless.com, Whitty specifically cites a 'Tonight Show' skit involving a horse made up in a "gay" way, in what Whitty calls a "tired mockery" of 'Brokeback Mountain.'

"I know you know gay people, Mr. Leno," Whitty writes in his letter. "Are they just jokes to you, to be snickered at behind their backs?"

The openly gay author's missive goes on to say, "When I think of gay people, I think of centuries of suffering. I think of really good people who've been gravely mistreated for a long time now."

Whitty admits his livelihood depends on having a sense of humor but begs the late-night host to "...cut it out, Jay."

Calls to 'The Tonight Show' weren't returned.

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