Jay Leno Says Joan Rivers Wasn’t Invited to ‘The Tonight Show’ ‘Out of Respect for Johnny’

Back in March, the late Joan Rivers returned to The Tonight Show as a guest after a nearly 30-year ban by Johnny Carson. Carson’s successor (and soon-to-be CNBC car show host) Jay Leno recently sat down with Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush, who bluntly asked him why he chose to keep the ban alive: “I didn’t wanna do it while Johnny was alive out of respect for Johnny. I don’t think he wanted to see her on the show, and that’s why we didn’t do it … It got a little awkward.”