Conan On Leno: “I Wouldn’t Have Done That”

Conan O’Brien sits down with Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes this Sunday, breaking his silence about Jay Leno, his exit from NBC and the future at TBS.

CBS News has released some quotes from the sit-down – sure to whet the appetite of news and comedy junkies alike.

So far, it sounds like it was pretty candid: “He went and took that show back and I think in a similar situation, if roles had been reversed, I know…I know me, I wouldn’t have done that.”

When asked what he would have done instead, O’Brien said, “Done something else, go someplace else. I mean, that’s just me.”

Also:

I think this relationship is going be toxic and maybe we just need to go our separate ways,” he says. “That’s really how it felt to me…and I started to feel that I’m not sure these- people even really want me here….I can’t do it [anymore].”

The interview will likely be an enormous ratings draw, and there will be many stories here and elsewhere based on what O’Brien says. But the decision to sit down with Kroft, and at 60 Minutes, is an interesting one. He could have chosen the lighter route, and sat down with David Letterman. But the 60 Minutes audience is large, and serious (also, notably out of Conan’s demo).

The backstory of why he chose Kroft, in addition to what is said, is another wrinkle to the Conan PR push.

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