Jay Leno & Ryan Phillippe Still 'Friends' After Interview Controversy

Originally posted Friday April 11, 2008 10:00 AM EDT

There's no hard feelings between Jay Leno and Ryan Philippe, the TV host insisted Thursday night – after the recent controversy in which Leno asked the actor for his "gayest look."

When asked if there's any tension now between him and Phillippe, he replied, "That's all silly, of course."

"He's terrific," Leno, 57, told reporters at Thursday's One, Two, Many premiere in Hollywood.

Leno apologized last week after drawing fire from gay-rights group GLAAD for his on-air remarks, in which he asked Phillippe to pretend the camera was his "gay lover." Phillippe's first role was as a gay character on a soap opera. Leno later said he was "wrong" and that it "was a dumb thing to say."

Asked if he's spoken with Phillippe, 33, since the late-March interview, Leno said, "No, we talked about it before. We're friends. I mean, it's a talk show. That's what you do."

Tonight Show announcer John Melendez, who wrote and stars in the straight-to-DVD comedy One, Two, Many, also weighed in on the controversy: "Jay doesn't have a bad bone in his body. If people get angry at something he said, they just can't take him that literal. He's just a good guy. In this day and age, everyone is so PC. As soon as Janet Jackson shows a bit of her boob, the whole country goes crazy. It's sad."

As for Leno's future on the tube, he's mum. "I'll find a job somewhere," says the host, who leaves The Tonight Show next year after 22 years. As to whether he's met with ABC execs about a possible new project, he says, "I don't know, we'll see what happens ... ."