Michele Bachmann gets no laughs from Jay Leno

[Gerald]

Michele Bachmann has an awkward chat with Jay Leno, who pushed the Republican over gay marriage and the HPV vaccine.

Michele Bachmann: an awkward encounter with Jay Leno on the Tonight Show. Photograph: Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

For many celebrities, Jay Leno's Tonight Show is a fairly gentle outlet for publicity. But as Michele Bachmann discovered, Leno can have a sharp edge when he chooses to unsheath it.

If the Republican presidential contender was expecting a few jokes and some good PR, she didn't get it. Instead, the late-night talkshow host asked pointed questions about Bachmann's disputed objections to the HPV vaccine and gay marriage in an awkward encounter that showed Bachmann to be evasive under Leno's probing, while her own attempts at jokes fell flat.

The omens weren't good as Leno announced his line-up of guests, the audience giving big cheers for Jason Statham and Lady Antebellum – but not a single whoop could be heard for Bachmann when her name was mentioned.

After Bachmann came on stage to Walking on Sunshine, Leno dispensed with chit-chat and quickly asked Bachmann about her attacks on Texas governor Rick Perry's support for the HPV vaccine.

"Is that bad? it's a vaccine to prevent to prevent cervical cancer," asked Leno.

"Well I think so," replied Bachmann. "The concern is that there are potentially side effects that can come with something like that. But it gives a false sense of assurance to a young woman when she has that, that if she's sexually active that she doesn't have to worry about sexually transmitted diseases."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/rich...y-leno-tonight


Note: September 17