WGA reminds Leno about writing rules

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The striking Writers Guild of America said it has reminded Jay Leno, a WGA member, that he is not allowed to write for his own late-night talk show.

Leno was back on the air Wednesday night after the ongoing strike shut "The Tonight Show" down for nearly two months.

He returned without his writers and noted in his opening remarks: "It's fun writing it yourself. You know what I'm doing? I'm doing what I did the day I started. I write jokes and I wake my wife up and say, 'Is this funny?' So, if this monologue doesn't work, it's my wife's fault."

But the WGA said Leno shouldn't be writing for the show at all.

"A discussion took place today between Jay Leno and the Writers Guild to clarify to him that writing for 'The Tonight Show' constitutes a violation of the guilds' strike rules," the Writers Guild of America, West and East divisions said in a statement posted on the WGA Web site Thursday.