The 74-year-old star, appearing on the TMZ holiday special Merry Elfin’ Christmas, said that he met the father of the fans in what began as a ‘road rage’ encounter while he was out riding in one of his fleet of classic cars.
‘I’ll tell you a road rage story involving Taylor Swift,’ Leno said. ‘I’m in traffic, a guy behind me, beep beep beep. I’m driving one of my old cars so I [gesture to] go around me.’
Leno, who hosted NBC’s The Tonight Show from 1992 until 2014, said the other driver flipped him off, which he subsequently confronted him about.
‘I pulled to the light, and I looked at the guy, and I go, “What was that all about?” He starts swearing and that’s what I laid into him,’ Leno said.
The comedy icon said he tore into the hostile motorist with a monologue that would’ve leveled the nastiest of hecklers.
‘I said, “Let me guess: What are you, 52, divorce, your kids hate you, you’re bald? What was your greatest day – in high school?”‘
Leno said that the other motorist began ‘crying’ and told him he was ‘right’ in his harsh assessment of him, leading him to try and lift the man’s spirits.
‘I go, “Wait, wait, wait” so I get out of my car, I get into his car – I said, “Look, I got Taylor Swift on the show next Wednesday – do you daughters like Taylor Swift?”‘ Leno said.
Leno said after the man confirmed his daughters loved Swift, he provided the man with tickets to the program and arranged to have his daughters meet the pop star.
Leno said he ‘told Taylor the situation’ and she ‘was the nicest person’ as she ‘talked to the girls’ and gave them souvenirs.
The man’s daughters were ‘ecstatic’ upon meeting Swift, Leno said, and ‘liked him again’ following the A-list exchange borne out of the testy encounter on the road.
Swift appeared on The Tonight Show a total of seven times during Leno’s tenure, with her first coming in 2007 and last in 2012.
She’s appeared seven more times since Jimmy Fallon took over the NBC franchise in 2014, with her most recent appearance coming in 2022.
Leno remains on the mend weeks after falling down a 60-foot hill after performing at Greenhouse, Pennsylvania’s Palace Theatre November 15.
Leno last week hosted an amfAR benefit at the Wynn Las Vegas, saying on the red carpet that he was ‘feeling good’ amid his recovery from the accidental fall, adding, ‘I’ve got a broken wrist, but I’m all right.’
Leno told TMZ November 19 that he suffered the injury while he was seeking to take a shortcut to a restaurant that was inconveniently located at the bottom of a hill.
The classic car enthusiast said that he ‘didn’t have a car’ at the time, and wanted to avoid ‘a mile-and-a-half’ walk to the eatery: ‘I said, “Well, the hill doesn’t look that steep – it’s about 60-70 feet – let me see if I can go down the hill.”‘
Leno said at that point, he fell down: ‘Boom, boom, boom – I rolled down the hill, hit my head on a rock, knocked me in the eye.’
Leno remained a trooper in the wake of the accident, making his show the following day at Highland, California’s Yaamava Theater.
Merry Elfin’ Christmas airs Monday at 9 /8c on Fox.
