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NBC: Jay Leno Took 50% Pay Cut Amid Tonight Show Staff Layoffs

Truth rating: 10

5:48 pm, September 7th, 2012

(GettyImages.com)

Jay Leno took a 50 percent pay cut to alleviate staff layoffs at “The Tonight Show” last month.

As Gossip Cop reported in August, NBC laid off between 20 and 25 staffers to reduce costs on late night TV’s top-rated broadcast, with Leno taking a significant reduction in his own salary to help save other jobs.

On Friday, a network spokesperson confirmed that Leno agreed to slice his compensation in half — to $15 million.

VIDEO – Jay Leno Jokes About “Tonight Show” Layoffs, Mocks NBC in Monologue

The host also renewed his contract through September 2014.

NBC’s corporate parent Comcast reportedly tightened the show’s weekly budget from $2.3 million to $1.7 million during last month’s restructuring.

Leno, who’s hosted the show since 1992 (except for Conan O’Brien’s ill-fated 2009 interlude), has famously said that he saves every penny he earns from “The Tonight Show” and lives off the money he makes from other standup gigs.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/S.Gerot Steve Gerot

    I wonder if loud mouth Howard Stern would do that.

  • opinion1

    I applaud Leno! More rich folks should help out.

  • Anonymous

    Although I applaud Jay, he can well afford to do this-maybe if he wasn’t getting such a insanely hugh salary for a job that really doesn’t require much talent, the other jobs may have been saved as well

  • its brenda

    Yeah, I wonder what Howard Stern and the other late nighters would do.

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