Jay Leno is doing surprisingly well after his car fire last November and motorcycle accident in January.
“I’m doing good! I’m doing good,” the comedian, 73, told Pvnew exclusively Saturday at a kickoff event ahead of the premiere of “Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge.”
Despite sustaining third-degree burns in the explosion in his garage and breaking multiple bones in the bike crash, Leno looked physically unscathed and was energetic during our chat.
He is “recovering” so well, in fact, that he’s not even doing physical therapy these days.
“It’s fine! I’m fine,” he insisted, attributing his positive outlook to his ability to acknowledge his privilege.
“Look, when you’re in my position, when you’re any kind of celebrity, you’re luckier than most people,” the former “Tonight Show” host explained.
“So when something bad happens to you, you can’t whine and complain about it because bad things happen to people every day — either they get burned or they get cut — and they don’t have the financial wherewithal I did.”
“So I just make jokes,” he said, going on to quip that “people love to see rich people catch on fire.”
“Plus, it’s Hollywood. As long as you look OK, you’re OK. Nobody really cares how you feel.”
Leno shared that he has learned to live in the moment because “show business is fleeting.”
“You enjoy it while you can, and it’s fun,” he told us. “Some days you’re popular; some days you’re not.”
Despite the recent hardships, the former “Jay Leno’s Garage” host is still enjoying his favorite hobbies: tending to his massive collection of new and antique vehicles and taking his motorcycle out for spins.
He told us that his wife of more than four decades, Mavis Leno, is actually supportive of his continued joy rides.
“As long as it’s not cocaine and girlfriends, she’s fine — believe me,” he joked.
Given his vast knowledge of and unwavering interest in cars, Jay was tapped to join NBC’s “Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge” as a celebrity guest judge.
On the reality competition show, which premieres May 30, superfans will go headlight to headlight to build the life-sized Hot Wheels of their childhood dreams.
