Former “The Tonight” show host Jay Leno canceled a performance in Las Vegas on Sunday after suffering a “serious medical emergency,” according to a new report.
Leno, 72, was scheduled to take the stage at a financial conference on Sunday night when he had an undisclosed health issue, according to an email to Forum 2022 attendees from The Financial Brand obtained by People magazine.
“His family was not able to provide us very many details, but there was a very serious medical emergency that is preventing Jay from traveling,” the email stated. “All we know is that he is alive, so our prayers go out to him and his family tonight.”
TMZ reports Leno “was in the L.A. garage where he stores his cars on Sunday when one of the cars erupted into flames without warning. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … the flames burned the left side of Jay’s face, but thankfully did not penetrate his eye or his ear.”
The comedian’s current condition is unknown, but has previously been diagnosed with high cholesterol and revealed a blockage in his heart in 2019. Leno said he was taking medication and using a portable EKG device that monitors his heart rhythm and detects irregular heartbeats.
“There’s a lot of people walking around (with risk of heart attacks or strokes), they’re just time bombs. You’ve got all this cholesterol, you don’t realize it until it actually hits, you know?” Leno previously said. “It’s like in a car, if even one piece of dirt gets in the eye of the needle of the jet, and boom and no more gas comes through. And that’s what happens with your heart.”
Leno, who hosted “The Tonight Show” from 1992 to 2009, currently hosts the game show “You Bet Your Life” and “Jay Leno’s Garage.”
