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"Only for the second time in my career am I the new face of comedy!" The Tonight Show legend joked.
Jay Leno is taking his "brand-new face" for a ride.
During an appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," the 72-year-old talk show host veteran opened up about having his face reconstructed after suffering from third degree burns during an accidental fire in his garage.
Back in November 2022, Leno had been working in his Burbank garage when his face was suddenly doused in gasoline while working on the fuel line of one of his cars and caught on fire.
Leno -- who suffered burns on his face, chest and hands -- went on to spend nine days at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles, where doctors had to debride his wounds.
Joking that he is once again the "new face in comedy" for the second time in his career, the comedian showed off his amazing recovery.
"This is a brand new face, it's unbelievable. What happened was I was working on a car and I got a face full of gasoline and it caught fire," he explained, joking. "I'd been eating a Flamin' Hot Dorito and when I bit into it, it set my face on fire!"
"No no, but, it was interesting," Leno continued. "It was all third-degrees so it was pretty bad. It was pretty bad."
When host Kelly Clarkson remarked on how doctors were able to revive his skin, he replied, "You'd think I would have a zipper [on my face] now, but no!"
Jay Leno Details Burn Injuries and Recovery in First TV Interview After Horrific Garage Fire Accident
View Story"Only for the second time in my career am I the new face of comedy! I got it once in the 1980s, and now I get it again! That's a brand new ear, too!" Leno said.
Back in December, Leno and his friend Dave Killackey -- who was with the TV personality at the time of his accident -- recalled the harrowing moment during an appearance on they "Today" show.
Killackey told host Hoda Kotb that he "couldn't even see [Leno's] face," during the accident and added, "He downplays it all, but I'm telling you, he was really engulfed. It was a wall of fire."
"I just grabbed him," he recalled jumping into action. "He was just under the car. I grabbed him by the head, and I pulled his head into my chest."
"I thought it was a bad Tinder date," Leno joked, chiming in. "I thought, 'What’s going on here?'"
