Jay Leno jokingly told fans he had a “brand new face” while starring on The Kelly Clarkson show, after his face caught fire during an accident.
The horrific incident, which occurred in November 2022, was caused by his 1907 White Steam Car, which he was working on with his friend, Dave Killackey.
Believing that a fuel line on the car sounded as if it had become clogged, Jay Leno, 72, had instructed Killackey to blow air through it, which caused a stream of gas to hit the TV presenter in the face. His face then caught on fire after the pilot light jumped, leaving him with third degree burns.
Appearing on the show on Wednesday, Jay Leno received a standing ovation from the audience.
Kelly told viewers that he had missed his originally scheduled appearance due to his accident, telling her guest: "You look great though”, to which he replied, “This is a brand-new face.”
He continued: “It is, it's unbelievable. What happened, I was working on a car and I got a full face of gasoline and it caught fire. And I had been eating a flaming hot Dorito and when I bit into it, it set my face on...
“It was interesting. It was all third-degree burns, it was pretty bad. It was pretty bad.”
The comedian opened up about the experience on NBC News ' Today.
Speaking about his new face, he said: “You can't tell at all. No, you think there'd be a zipper here or something. No, this is like a brand new face.
"Only for the second time in my career I am the new face of comedy.”
He also spoke about what happened in the moment, and how Dave was quick to act.
The star said: “I said to my friend, I said, ‘Dave, I'm on fire’ and then, ‘Oh, my God’.
“Dave, my friend, pulled me out and jumped on top of me and kind of smothered the fire.”
Jay was then taken to Grossman Burn Center in West Hills, California, for treatment to his third-degree burns, staying at the facility for 10 days.
Director of the medical facility, Dr Peter Grossman, told NBC News in November that the comedian’s burns were "relatively serious" and "human cadaver skin" was used for temporary skin grafts to aid his healing.
It is thought that the comedian will likely have to undergo surgery in the future to treat the injuries.
