Dave got the cheers – but Jay delivered the knockout punch!
While America lauded DAVID LETTERMAN on a career-capping episode of the “Late Show,” it was really his longtime nemesis, JAY LENO, who produced the comedic death blow by bitterly spurning Dave’s invitation to make a cameo during the final show.
“Jay never gave the invitation the slightest consideration,” an insider told The National ENQUIRER.
“There was no way Jay was going on that show when Dave refused to go on his last episode. And then there’s that slight matter of decades worth of bad blood!”
What’s more, Jay, 65, callously fibbed his way out of accepting Dave’s olive branch by telling producers his “touring schedule would not allow him to make an appearance,” according to an insider.
The ENQUIRER, though, has caught Jay – who still tours as a stand-up comedian – in that boldfaced lie: We’ve discovered he had not one appearance scheduled until three days after Dave’s last show on May 23 in Los Angeles!
“We invited Jay and all I heard was that he was in ‘Chuckles’ in Boulder, Colorado, for three weeks,” said “Late Show” executive producer Rob Burnett. “It must be a long gig!”
Not only is there no “Chuckles” comedy club in Boulder – but the nearest one is in Corpus Christi, Texas!
Dave, 68, helped boost Jay’s popularity by repeatedly inviting him to appear on his old NBC perch, “Late Night with David Letterman.”
But after Jay landed “The Tonight Show” gig, Dave never forgave him and scathingly mocked him for the betrayal.
Meanwhile, Jay rarely took digs at his late-night rival.
Yet back in January, Jay seemed to fib when asked about the invitation to appear on Dave’s final episode, saying: “I haven’t heard that.”
