Conan O’Brien compared his controversy to The Tonight Show’s previous Battle of the Hosts that went down between David Letterman and Jay Leno, which occurred when Johnny Carson retired.
Leno, of course, ended up getting the job, which caused Letterman to jump ship from Late Night to CBS’ The Late Show, where he served as Leno’s rival for years.
While O’Brien thought he’d get the same reaction, he told Vulture he received much more serious reactions when making disparaging jokes regarding NBC taking him out to bring Leno back.
Those reactions ultimately drove Conan to abstain from talking about the situation altogether, perhaps in an attempt not to have his feelings misinterpreted, as well as not wanting to cause more drama.