Charlie Sheen Told Epic Lie to Jay Leno to Get Out of ‘Tonight Show’ Appearance

You don’t want to spend a beautiful day hanging out with 2000s-era Jay Leno? We get it. Relatable. But if you’re trying to get out of a Leno hang, you’re going to need a better fib than the one Charlie Sheen told Leno to get out of a Tonight Show appearance. 

Leno was on The Adam Carolla Show this week (4,000th episode!) when he revealed one of his favorite Tonight Show stories. Leno was in his office at about quarter to four one afternoon, getting ready for a show taping at 4:30 p.m. The phone rings. “Jay, it’s Charlie Sheen for you.”

Leno picked up the phone to talk to Sheen, who was scheduled to appear on his show in 45 minutes. 

“Jay, it’s Charlie, man. Listen,” groaned an audibly upset Sheen. “You know, we were coming in, we got in an accident, and the limo got T-boned!”

Holy smokes! Leno, who knows a little something about near-fatal accidents, expressed his concern. “You got T-boned? Are you all right?”

“Yeah, yeah — I mean, it caught fire, but it’s not…”

Leno cut him off. “Look, we can get a comic,” he said. “Don’t worry!”

“I don’t think I can make it.” 

“Charlie, just go home, all right? Just relax. Take it easy. I’ll call you next week.”

Leno thanked Sheen for letting him know personally, then considered his guest’s horrific accident. What a catastrophe! Leno turned on Entertainment Tonight for an update on Sheen’s condition, maybe some footage of that limousine on fire. Nothing yet. He flipped through all of the four o’clock news shows. Huh, that’s weird — no news about Sheen’s accident.

So Leno picked up the phone and called Joe the Chauffeur. “Hello, Joe? Yeah, it’s Jay. Hey, is Charlie with you?”

Joe the Chauffeur informed Leno that he was indeed in front of Sheen’s house, but the star had yet to emerge. 

“You didn’t get T-boned? The limo didn’t catch fire?”

Nope and nope. So Leno called Sheen back. 

“Charlie, it’s Jay. What are you, nine? There’s a monster under the bed? Charlie Sheen gets T-boned on the 101 — you don’t think somebody else will report this story?”

Sheen was sheepish — and high as hell. He apologized for his lie and for his zonked-out condition, which would have made him a lousy guest.

Leno let Sheen off the hook, telling him it was fine. But the actor learned a valuable lesson that day: Never lie to Jay Leno. And if you do, make sure you can’t get ratted out by Joe the Chauffeur.