Jay Leno Jokes About Being Fired From The Tonight Show & Replaced By Jimmy Fallon

Jay Leno -- who’s drawn the ire of NBC bosses for his constant mocking of the network’s sinking ratings -- made a joke at his own expense on The Tonight Show Thursday night, and RadarOnline.com has the clip.

“Are you all excited about March Madness?” Leno asked the audience. “Are you all into March Madness? People are talking about who’s in, who’s out, who’s gonna be eliminated. And that’s just here at NBC. I’ve never been in the paper this much. It’s fantastic.”

This was the fourth night in a row Leno has mercilessly mocked NBC during his monologue; perhaps, his most stinging joke occurred on Monday when he referred to network executives as “snakes.”

As RadarOnline.com has previously reported, Leno’s anger comes amid much speculation this week that NBC plans to replace him on The Tonight Show with Late Night host Jimmy Fallon by the end of next year and move the show from Burbank, California to New York City, where Fallon currently tapes.

Interestingly, Leno -- who took a big pay cut last year in wake of falling revue at NBC -- still remains #1 in the late night wars, although Fallon would most certainly pull in a younger audience in the coveted 11:35/10:35c weeknight slot.

Seth Meyers, the head writer for Saturday Night Live and anchor of Weekend Update is rumored to be Fallon's replacement on Late Night.