Leno Confuses Paul Rodriguez for George Lopez while trying to bury the hatchet

EDIT: I think my thread title isn't getting the point accross, so I added this.

George Lopez called out Jay Leno for being two faced and a backstabber. Jay Leno tried to work things out with George by talking to him face to face, except it wasn't George he was talking to, it was Paul Rodriguez.

Comedian feels 'hurt' by Latin flubber Leno

BY GEORGE RUSH AND JOANNA RUSH MOLLOY

Thursday, May 3rd 2007, 4:00 AM

Jay Leno has some 'splaining to do - as the great Desi Arnaz might have said -after mixing up two of America's top Latino comics.

You may remember that, in January, funnyman George Lopez told a Florida radio station that the "Tonight" host is "the biggest two-faced dude in TV." Besides calling Leno a "backstabber," Lopez branded him "the worst interviewer on TV."

Leno hadn't forgotten Lopez's attack when he walked into the recent Laugh Factory memorial for comic Richard Jeni. Spotting comedian Paul Rodriguez, Leno brought up the dig.

"He said, 'Listen, maybe you and I should sit down and work this out,'" Rodriguez recalled when we phoned him yesterday. "He said, 'We shouldn't be airing this stuff in public.' He was going on like that. At first, I thought he was putting me on. Finally, I said, 'Jay, It's Paul! I'm not George! I'm the other Beatle.'

"Jay apologized. He said, 'I'm sorry. I don't have my contacts in.' I said, 'Hey, it's understandable. We Mexicans all look alike."

Another witness said, "People who heard Jay thought it was bizarre. He's either getting Alzheimer's or he's gone so Hollywood he doesn't remember his friends from his early standup days."

Taking the stage before a crowd that included Tim Allen, Richard Lewis, Paul Provenza, Ray Romano, Larry Miller and Elayne Boosler, Leno acknowledged his flub - blaming it on his grief over Jeni's suicide.

"It was dark in the club," added Leno's rep. "He thought he saw George out of the corner of his eye. He started talking and then realized it wasn't George. ... He hadn't seen Paul in a year. They both laughed."

Rodriguez told us: "I am a little hurt. I've worked with him for going on 30 years. Our families know each other. I thought I was on the inside of Jay's circle. When Letterman was kicking his buns, I told my Latino viewers to support Jay. I don't know what makes people so forgetful. Maybe it's time for Conan to come on [as Leno's replacement]."

The comedy king added, "I don't know how Jay could confuse me with George. He's tall, I'm attractive. Jose Feliciano could tell the difference.

"Really, I have no animosity toward Jay. The fact that he doesn't put me on his show only enhances his stature in my eyes. And, if he does put me on the show, I will insist on performing as George Lopez."
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/r...comedian_feels_hurt_by_latin_flubber_len.html

 

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