This despite appearing in the very first skit on the very first show. O'Brien said he didn't watch Fallon in an interview on Pittsburgh local TV. Conan's excuse for not watching Jimmy is pretty lame - "I've been traveling around and don't have Tivo with me or anything." Or perhaps he just didn't want to answer Fallon follow-up questions. Still, in answering a question about his first Tonight Show guest, he took what some could consider a veiled shot at his successor, considering Fallon's interview with his first guest, living legend Robert De Niro, was pretty much a disaster:
On his hopes for a first guest: "I don't need my first guest to
be the biggest star in the world. ... I want my first guests to be
people I'm comfortable with. People who I'll be funny with. Johnny
Carson's greatest interviews and the ones that resonate were never with
the big stars. It was always Johnny with Buddy Hackett, Johnny with Don
Rickles, Johnny with the woman who collects potato chips shaped like
the presidents."
Agreed. But also a question that easily could have been answered without that first sentence. O'Brien's no dummy, and he chooses his words carefully - one wonders what this is about...
PREVIOUSLY:
Who Is Jimmy Fallon's First Guest???
Jimmy Fallon Was Way More Lenoish Than We'd Expected