Comedian Jay Leno has gone viral after video of him climbing out of a moving plane in a fearless mid-air stunt was shared on social media.
The footage, which was posted on screenwriter and podcaster Spike Feresten's Instagram Wednesday, shows Leno popping out of the nose a Grumman HU-16 Albatross airplane flying over the Pacific Ocean at around 147 mph, People noted. He then shows the pilots in the cockpit a thumbs-up sign and jokingly pretends to claw on the hood of the plane before slowly lowering himself back down.
Speaking about the daring stunt on Wednesday's episode of "Spike's Car Radio" podcast, Leno confirmed that it was a "real airplane" flying through the sky.
"The nose opens from the inside, so I climbed out ... in the air," the comedian said of his decision to surprise his friends.
"I wanted to surprise the guys. I was with some friends of mine and they didn’t know the front of the plane opened, so I went up to the front and them climbed up on the windshield," he said.
Leno also revealed that he was not tethered to the plane and that although he was "just being stupid," the stunt as a whole was "not that bad."
Earlier this year, Leno also made headlines, but for controversial reasons. In March, he offered an apology for the jokes he has made about Asians over the years. In a joint press release with the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA), Leno admitted he knew "in my heart" that the quips he made were wrong.
"At the time, there was a prevailing attitude that some group is always complaining about something, so don’t worry about it. Whenever we received a complaint, there would be two sides to the discussion: Either 'We need to deal with this' or 'Screw ‘em if they can’t take a joke,'" Leno explained, according to The Wrap.
"Too many times I sided with the latter even when in my heart I knew it was wrong. That is why I am issuing this apology. I do not consider this particular case to be another example of cancel culture, but a legitimate wrong that was done on my part."
There have been several occasions in which Leno has made Anti-Asian remarks. In his statement, Leno admitted that, at the time, he thought they were harmless but has since realized they are not. Leno further stated that he hoped the Asian American community would be able to accept his apology, and that he could "live up to their expectations in the future."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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