Jay Leno will always show up for a good cause!
One week ago, the comedian, 74, fell down a steep hill in Pennsylvania, badly bruising his face and body and breaking his wrist. His injuries were still visible on Thursday, Nov. 21, when he was spotted in Los Angeles. However, on Friday, Nov. 22, he appeared to cover his bruises from the fall with makeup while hosting a charity event at the Wynn Las Vegas.
The Tonight Show former host traveled out of California to host the inaugural amfAR Las Vegas benefit event, where Sylvester Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin Stallone, were honored with amfAR’s Award of Inspiration in “recognition of their generous support of amfAR’s lifesaving work, in addition to numerous other causes related to health, education, and women’s rights,” a press release states.
David Becker/Getty
The night also featured performances from Diana Ross and Amber Riley. Leno attended the event in a blue suit paired with black dress shoes.
He told us earlier this week that he fell while trying to walk to a nearby restaurant at the bottom of his hotel, which, according to Inside Edition, was a Hampton Inn about 30 miles outside of Pittsburgh.
Leno had a show at the Palace Theatre in Greenhouse, Penn., on Friday, Nov. 15, and later performed at the Yaamava’ Theater in Highland, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 16.
“To get to [the restaurant], I didn’t have a car, so you had to walk about a mile and a half around. I said, ‘Well, the hill doesn’t look that steep. It’s about 60-70 feet. Let me see if I can go down the hill,’ I fell down. Boom, boom, boom. I rolled down the hill, hit my head on a rock, knocked me in the eye,” he told us.
Jay Leno stepping out in Los Angeles on Thursday, Nov. 21.
London Entertainment / SplashNews
He also told Inside Edition that the incident caused him to break his wrist and lose one of the nails on his finger, leaving the entire left side of his body bruised.
CBS News spoke with Gary Latshaw, the owner of Latshaw Productions, the company that put on his show on Friday, who recalled seeing Leno following the incident.
“I was thinking, ‘I need to call an ambulance’ because I thought, whatever happened, it was a severe fall,” said Latshaw.
Jay Leno attends 60th Anniversary at The Improv at Hollywood Improv on November 07, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Monica Schipper/Getty
Latshaw said that it “was inspiring to watch” Leno, who previously suffered second-degree and third-degree burns in November 2022, still put on a show.
“He didn’t want to disappoint people, including people who were there to meet him backstage. He could have canceled that. He cancelled nothing. I stand amazed. I really do. It was inspiring to watch,” he said.
