SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Jay Leno can let loose his best Jacko zingers again after the judge in the singer’s molestation trial said Friday his gag order doesn’t cover jokes.
The late-night talk-master used stand-in comics to roast the King of Pop after he got a subpoena in the case.
Leno and NBC lawyers thought he was under a sweeping gag order that bars witnesses and lawyers from discussing anything about the case.
But Judge Rodney Melville said jokes don’t count – the only things the “Tonight Show” host can’t discuss are “the specific facts that he is a witness to.”
“I would not have expected that he would not tell jokes. I’d like him to tell good jokes – not bad jokes, but I can’t control that,” the judge said.
“I am not attempting to prevent anyone from making a living,” the judge said.
Jackson’s lawyer Robert Sanger complained Leno’s jokes are mean.
“He makes very cruel jokes about Michael Jackson which might be very funny unless you’re Michael Jackson,” the defender said.
“You’d like me to order him not to make cruel jokes?” the judge quipped.
Leno may be called as a defense witness because Jackson’s now-15-year-old accuser and the boy’s mom allegedly had called Leno seeking money.
Leno told cops he became suspicious the mom was “looking for a mark.”
The defense says Leno can bolster its contention that the kid and his mom are out to shake down celebs like Jackson.
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