Jay Leno gives recovery update following November accident

Hey, did you hear this one, folks? Just under six months after suffering severe burns during an accident while filming his titular reality show, Jay Leno has detailed his continued pain even as he continues to work.

Speaking with People, Jay Leno said of recovering from his accident, “I’m alright, I’ve got a broken collar bone and two broken ribs and a couple cracked knee caps, but I’m okay…There’s a little pain, but it’s not bad…Pain is constant, so if it’s constant you’re okay. Pain from a burn, after a while you get used to it and eventually it goes away, but it’s not terrible.”

Despite the pain, Jay Leno has tried to give his accident and the reactions to it a little perspective. “They were just accidents…Real people have accidents every day. When you’re in show business people fawn all over you. And if you start whining and complaining about it you’re a whiny, complaining actor. It’s better if you just make jokes about it and have fun.”

Jay Leno’s accident occurred back in November, when the gearhead experienced a gasoline fire that sent him to the hospital for 10 days.

Even though Jay Leno’s Garage was sent to the scrapyard earlier this year, Leno is still keeping busy, with a gig guest-judging on NBC’s Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge, in which “16 superfans go headlight to headlight to build the life-sized Hot Wheels of their childhood dreams. Inspiration is in the drivers’ seat as the contestants navigate unique twists and turns in the hopes of winning a life-changing prize.”

Expectedly, Jay Leno has kept in positive spirits following the accident, saying in regards to his skin grafting surgeries, “Only for the second time in my career am I the new face of comedy. I got it once in the ’80s and now I get it again. That’s a brand new ear! You think there’d be a zipper here or something, but no this is like a brand new face.”

Even though he is showing no signs of slowing down, at 73, Leno appears to be bringing his career full circle in a way, playing TV host Ed Sullivan in the upcoming Brian Epstein biopic Midas Man.