George Lopez visited Howard Stern today, and the comedy legend revealed some massive secrets behind the infamous late-night war between Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno. While Conan is often thought to be the greatest casualty of the fiery feud, Lopez brought to light something I’ve said from the start. Conan O’Brien is just as guilty as Jay Leno. First, O’Brien took Lopez’s time slot and his dismal ratings meant he was a poor lead-in for Lopez. According to Lopez, he had no say in the decision, and though he was publicly accepting, TBS forced his hand. TBS also asked Lopez to call Conan to convince him to take the job, another move Lopez felt forced to make. Lopez also slammed David Hudson, the SVP of late night and specials, who consistently called-out Lopez’s creative choices, despite “never having sold a comedy ticket in his life.”
It’s insane that Conan came out clean in the Tonight Show feud, especially since the entire debacle began when he pressured NBC to sack Leno, which would be considered evil in any other non-entertainment profession. Plus, he simply didn’t have the ratings. Sure he had a weak lead-in, but if that’s the case, then it’s even further proof of his hypocrisy regarding George Lopez. Listen to Lopez’s very honest account below.