UPDATE: Jay's rep tells us that he wishes he could do more, but it's not his show -- he's just the host. Having said that, he gave out his standard Christmas bonuses early to mitigate the effects of the strike -- nearly half a million bucks. The rep would not say, however, how the cash was distributed. As for not saying goodbye to the staff, Jay can't cross the picket line.
Staffers at the "Tonight Show" were just told they've been laid off because of the WGA strike. Happy F-ing Holidays.
And that's not the only thing adding insult to penury around NBC. As TMZ reported earlier, we were told that Jay Leno was in a giving mood, offering the staff a "big" Christmas bonus to get them through the strike. This, instead of offering to pay their salaries like his counterparts Conan O'Brien and David Letterman. Well, someone just sent us a copy of their bonus check. $100. Wow.
Staffers were supposed to receive $100 for each year they've been on the show, but we're told some didn't even get that. We hear many staffers are more hurt than pissed, as there's been little communication from the top. One source says that they weren't too pleased about how Jay's handled the layoffs. He didn't even say goodbye, much less Merry Christmas. Grinch!
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Wow. Thanks, Parker. I have a new respect for Mrs. Karen Walker now. Even though her show was dull as anything and bombed so badly in syndication, they didn't even give her the full Sept - May run. :-)
This story is 100% accurate, I was there. Staffers who have been working for leno for many years got a couple hundred bucks. let me explain why this is such a big deal. You ready?
The other late night hosts, the generous dave letterman, conan o brien, craig ferguson and jon stewart ARE paying their employees' complete salaries! we were told by leno we would be taken care of. now we get nothing. Jay is difficult to work for and not the man he pretends to be on tv. i'm glad the truth about him is finally coming out.
of course nobody is obligated to pay their employees during a strike. but when EVERYONE else in your industry pays their employees, and you don't, you look bad. jay is bad. everyone who works for him knows it. the truth comes out.
The bonuses were Jay's nice thing to do because he is able to do so. What other co-worker of yours gave you 100 dollars or something equivalent? Remember, he isn't their boss; they should be grateful, not call him cheap for doing something nice. He should have just kept the money IMO.
Well, it looks like from the bulk of the comments that most of us understand and agree Jay is a great guy. TMZ really should pull this one.
it's worth noting that all these people commenting "I work for jay and he's a great guy..." blah blah blah are Tonight show WRITERS. you know, those overpaid guys who write all the Clinton sex jokes 10 years after the fact. there's a reason they've never been been nominated for an emmy and that's because they're bad at what they do.
they support leno because they make hundreds of thousands of dollars for hack work. the Tonight show support staff, the producers, the assistants, the gofers, the crew, the cameramen, the receptionists are not writing in BECAUSE WE'VE HAD IT WITH JAY'S PHONY IMAGE. he's worse than helen kushnick. ever see The Devil Wears Prada? ok, picture the boss in that movie with a 5-ft jaw and faded work shirt, and thats who leno really is. oh, and tonight show hack writer - i'll be hitting "refresh" waiting for your confessional comment that leno is really a jerk. you know its trie.
To the person identified in the earlier email as "Cheryl Sims,"
You weren't there, sweetie. It's obvious. There is no Cheryl Sims on the staff.
Jay Leno is the King of Late Night tv. Conan the Ginger Nut and Dave the Whinger Nut are not fit to lick Jays boots.
We love you in this household Jay, and once you finish on NBC, we`re cancelling our subscription on DirecTV
Iâm a proud writer for Jay Leno and the Tonight Show. It's the best job in the world.
Jay is NOT the one who is responsible for the lay-offs. On the
contrary, Jay is the reason so many lucky Tonight Show staffers have
had jobs longer than most people in this town.
This TMZ story is incorrect. TMZ should get all the facts and do
what is right - retract this story.
HMMM....
these comments smell like Leno PR people doing damage control.
Of course Cheryl Sims is a fake name, do you think a staff member would use their own??
I am in fact a Tonight Show staffer and i'm not using my real name for one reason: it's a MEAN environment full of vindictive, mean, hostile people. there's an old saying that "a fish rots from its head" and the reason it's a mean environment is because jay and the head writer joe are mean, sad, vindictive people. jay parks in the first spot next to the artists' entrance, he wears a blue work shirt every day, his office is in the corner next to helga's. still think i'm not a tonight show staffter - sweetie?
i think it's high tine the world knows the real jay and i'm so proud of tmz for showing some guys and going with this story which is being picked up all over the world by various media outlets. oh, and it takes a lot of guts to come on here and say "i'm a tonight show writer." you're hacks. the staff thinks you can't write. surprise!
i can end the impasse - none of these Tonight Show writers was there because they're on strike. dig? so every single comment by anyone identifying himself as a "tonight show writer" is worthless because they have not been to work for 5 weeks. it's the staff people who were present and got the $100 checks after Jay promised to take care of us. so shut up, writers, you aren't entitled to comment BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T THERE. Now go write some more bad jokes, you overpaid, untalented meanies.
Jay is very 'money-conscious', to this day he has not touched 1 single dollar that he has earned on the tonight show. He only spends the money he makes doing stand up.
And for the record, we dont know all of the facts here, I am sure he had to make some type of 'agreement' to pay what he did to discourage future strikes. He is the one under contract with NBC and he supported them almost to the point of being liable for breach of contract.
And to anyone whining about 'Christmas' : just to be safe, next time wait until after Ground Hog Day before you pull out your picket signs.
Jay was one of the first ones to take a stand with them, and he had much more at stake, Just the fact that he did that alone encouraged more celebrities to unite. How many sponsors did he lose? how much has this strike cost the network? and all the other people involved.
The fact that one of his former employees sends TMZ a copy of the check and they are complaining just goes to show he should have just done the tonight show that whole time anyway. If the writers dont like their job, then maybe they should do something else.
This is what you get when you try to negotiate with Hollywood Democrats. The Writers are looking for a flat percentage of future possible revenues that currently do not exist. If they agree tomorrow to 10% of future revenues, the strike will end tomorrow and zero dollars will be paid the writers until the revenue is generated. Yet Hollywood studios refuse to agree to any future revenue sharing for one simple reason. They don't want to share one dollar of any future profits WHATSOEVER! They are the definition of greed. I hope the writers break their backs. They got screwed 20 years ago with the DVD negotiations. They should never let it happen again. Stay tough! It may be a rough christmas but if you buckle under now, you will never recoup the millions you will lose in the long run. I say may them sweat and pay up this time.
