On February 7, Tonight Show host Jay Leno once again offended Catholics, this time by commenting that there is a Catholic church that features “all you can eat Communion.” The day before, Leno referred to a Catholic school as “Our Lady of the Evening.”
After the league verified the comment about Communion, a letter was sent to the executive producer of the Tonight Show. Within one week, the executive producer phoned Dr. Donohue to listen to his complaint. The response she offered was unsatisfactory; she then said that Jay himself would call, which he did.
Donohue spoke with Leno for ten minutes explaining why jokes about the Eucharist are not synonymous with jokes about Catholic school traditions. He was convinced that Leno meant no harm and was especially grateful that Leno extended a sincere apology.
During the conversation, Donohue said that a person who really offends him is Howard Stern. It was good news to hear Leno say that just recently he took a bible away from Stern as he was about to go on the show.
According to Leno, he tells some 11,000 jokes a year and sometimes does unwittingly offend people. What pleased the league was his forthrightness and honesty in admitting a mistake and his willingness to apologize.
