Comedian feels 'hurt' by Latin flubber Leno

Or, Why I Love Letterman.

BY GEORGE RUSH AND JOANNA RUSH MOLLOY

Posted Thursday, May 3rd 2007, 4:00 AM

Jay Leno has some 'splaining to do - as the great Desi Arnaz might have said - after mixing up two of America's top Latino comics. You may remember that, in January, funnyman George Lopez told a Florida radio station that the "Tonight" host is "the biggest two-faced dude in TV." Besides calling Leno a "backstabber," Lopez branded him "the worst interviewer on TV." Leno hadn't forgotten Lopez's attack when he walked into the recent Laugh Factory memorial for comic Richard Jeni. Spotting comedian Paul Rodriguez, Leno brought up the dig. "He said, 'Listen, maybe you and I should sit down and work this out,'" Rodriguez recalled when we phoned him yesterday. "He said, 'We shouldn't be airing this stuff in public.' He was going on like that. At first, I thought he was putting me on. Finally, I said, 'Jay, It's Paul! I'm not George! I'm the other Beatle.' "Jay apologized. He said, 'I'm sorry. I don't have my contacts in.' I said, 'Hey, it's understandable. We Mexicans all look alike." Another witness said, "People who heard Jay thought it was bizarre. He's either getting Alzheimer's or he's gone so Hollywood he doesn't remember his friends from his early standup days." MORE