Merry Christmas, you're fired: Jay Leno sacks tv staff

By Stone Martindale Dec 1, 2007, 20:12 GMT

11/11/2007 - Jay Leno - Love Ride 24 - Harley-Davidson Of Glendale - Glendale, California © Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

When the Writers Guild of America strike began November 5, Jay Leno of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" - according to The Hollywood Reporter - told some 80 of his staff that they need not worry about their finances.

Because of Leno's comments, the staff didn't bother looking for new jobs even though NBC was not as optimistic.

On Friday the entire staff was told that they were not only out of a job but also that they weren't guaranteed of being rehired once "The Tonight Show" returns.

"Some people were crying. Some people were screaming," said one employee speaking on condition of anonymity.

NBC declined comment on the firings beyond a brief statement that it had "regretfully informed the people who work on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' and 'Late Night With Conan O'Brien' that their services are not needed at this time due to our inability to continue production of the shows."

According to several staffers, tensions at "Tonight Show" have been rising for weeks.

O'Brien confirmed Thursday, for example, that he would pay the salaries of at least 50 nonwriting "Late Night" staffers out of his own pocket on a week-to-week basis.

Some "Tonight Show" insiders are angry at Leno, because of an upbeat conference call he held shortly after the WGA strike began.

"He was on speaker phone," a staffer said. "There were 80 of us. He told us not to panic. He said to trust him. He said: 'I can't get into details, but nobody will miss a car payment or lose their house. We're family. Trust me. I'm going to take care of this.' But that was the time we should have been looking for new jobs."

More recently, a letter NBC sent to now-laid-off staffers said, "If your services are needed, we will contact you."

The staffers are upset at Leno's misplaced optimism about his financial promises and that he seemed preoccupied with supporting striking writers, including handing out doughnuts to picketers and mugging for photo opportunities.

"He even joked that because of the writers strike, he had more time to work on his car collection," a staffer said. "That didn't sit well with us."

Leno's writers are paid $500,000 or more annually which also rankled the suddenly out-of-work production staffers who make a small amount of money.  Writers also are getting residuals on "Tonight Show" reruns that air during the strike.

Also cited by THR were the paltry Christmas bonuses - staffers with a couple of years on the job were given $200.