Jay Leno Shares Shocking First Photos Since Severe Facial Burns
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Jay Leno has been photographed by People for the first time since sustaining serious second degree burns after an accidental gasoline fire started in his garage. Leno, a longtime auto enthusiast, was clearing a blocked fuel line on a 1907 steam car when the fire broke out.
"I got a face full of gas, and then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire," he told Today's Hoda Kotb.
Leno underwent a number of skin grafts and spent eight hours a day in a hyperbaric chamber in order to expedite the healing process—but while his doctors were doing all they could to prevent permanent disfigurement, Leno was reportedly
"When you look like me, you don't really worry about what you look like," he joked. "If I'm George Clooney, that's going to be a huge problem. But they said it would be alright. My attitude is, I trust people who are the best to do what they do."
As the new pictures and interview footage show, it's staggering just how healthy Leno is looking post-surgery, with smooth skin and minimal facial scarring. In fact, he remarked that on his first night performing after the accident, his audience had seemed let down that he wasn't more visibly scarred. "People are disappointed you're not a briquette," he said.
Maintaining a sense of humour and perspective, ultimately, has been a central part of Leno's philosophy as he continues to recover. "In the real world, this happens to people every single day," he says. "People who work with their hands get injured every single day. I don't want to be some whiny celebrity... People'll be like, shut up!"
You Might Also Like
