Jay Leno Suffers Face Injuries, Wears Eye Patch to Comedy Show

Back in 2022, Jay Leno had to undergo major surgery after a car in his garage burst into flames while he was working on it, leaving him with third-degree burns on his face and hands. Two years later, the accident-prone comedian has experienced another gnarly injury on his face. 

On Nov. 16, Leno performed at a comedy show at the Yaamava' Casino in Highland, CA wearing an eye patch and a bandage on his wrist. When asked by TMZ what happened, the former late-night host explained that he was staying at a hotel on a hillside and wanted to go to a restaurant at the bottom of the hill. While trying to take a shortcut, he ended up falling down the slope and hitting his head on a rock, leaving him with a black eye and bruises on one side of his face. 

#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

Leno went on to perform his show that night, explaining that the injury happened just a few hours before he was set to take the stage. He ended up going to the hospital for treatment afterward. 

"It's not that big a deal," he stated plainly. As for any advice he'd give anyone who might be accident-prone like him, he was blunt with his wisdom: "The great thing about this age [is] you don't learn by your mistakes; you just keep doing the same stupid things." 

The former Tonight Show host seemingly can't catch a break. After his garage fire in 2022, he shattered several bones in a motorcycle crash just a few months later in January 2023. The hillside fall is the latest injury for the 74-year-old comedian, though it's thankfully nowhere near as drastic. 

Leno's next show is Nov. 30 at The Edge Pavilion in Laughlin, Nevada.