After 22 years hosting the Tonight Show, Jay Leno says an emotional goodbye, passing down the throne to Jimmy Fallon, the host of the Late Night Show.

Leno, who has had tension with Letterman and Conan in the past, says that it’s really time to go. It was made clear that the original idea of leaving was not made by Leno himself, but rather NBC. This isn’t the first time NBC has done something like this, taking Leno off of prime time back to his original position as the Tonight show host, stealing that spot away from Conan O’Brien back in 2010.

O’Brien was asked to move the Tonight Show shortly after midnight, but because he feared that this might ruin such a classic show’s ratings, O’Brien refused, giving Leno back his show. NBC paid $45 million to buy out O’Brien’s contract.

Leno, who was scheduled to leave NBC many months later, was offered $15 million to step out before the Winter Olympics began. For a late night show host with the number 1 ratings, it was hard to understand why one would be asked to go so suddenly.

One of the biggest theories is that Jay Leno was being too harsh on President Barack Obama. Leno, known for writing his monologue jokes, had many lines harshly directed towards the president and it is thought that this might have been responsible for his removal. Fallon who aired on the 17th of February, sponsored one of his first shows to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign having a more positive impact on the Executive Branch.

Regardless of the reason for Leno’s removal, one thing’s for sure, he’ll certainly be financially stable. Leno told many that he’s looking forward to see what direction Fallon will bring the show. A CBS reporter reminded Leno that the way he described Fallon was exactly the same way he described Conan. Leno responded, hesitantly saying:

“Huh? Did I say the same things? Yea, probably. Maybe I did. Well, we’ll see what happens (jokingly).”

When asked whether Fallon should expect a phone call 2 years from now, Leno responded saying ,“No, this is a lot different situation.”

Leno ended the interview saying that, “NBC has been more than fair. I mean it’s been good. These are tough things. You have to step back and go look, you’re getting a little old for this now. And that’s where I am… and so we’ll try something else.”