Jay Leno, the host of a U.S chat show, was heavily criticized for not offering to pick up his Tonight Show staff’s pay cheques amid the ongoing writers strike, and so he has now agreed to pay the laid-off members. Leno refused to cover the salaries of his show staff out of his own pocket after they were made redundant on Friday (30Nov07), unlike peers David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, Despite earning an estimated $27 million (£13.5 million) a year, He did however receive severe backlash from striking workers and so the star has relented and agreed to pay his staff a week’s wages – this is according to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.Of the ongoing battle between the Writers Guild of America and producers over royalties, the ‘Tonight Show Lay-off’s’ are the most recent casualties.The strike immediately shut down the late-night comedy shows and has gradually affected the production of many network-produced prime-time series, including Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives

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