Jay Leno sat down with Ellen DeGeneres to talk about leaving NBC's Tonight show for the second time, the first being when the network briefly replaced him with Conan O'Brien in 2009.

"Last time I was told, this time I was asked," Leno said.

NBC announced in September, 2004 that Conan O'Brien would replace Leno as host in 2009. Eight months into the takeover, during which Jay Leno hosted a low-rated primetime show, NBC paid Conan O'Brien $45 million to leave the network and reinstalled Leno as the host of Tonight due to O'Brien's low ratings.

Leno says that he was devastated to be portrayed as the bad guy in 2009: "I didn't quite understand that, but I never chose to answer any of those things or make fun of any other people involved," he said. "It's not my way."

Conan got his own show, Conan, on TBS after Leno was recruited back to hosting Tonight in 2010. This time, Leno is being replaced by 39-year-old Saturday Night Live alum and Late Night host Jimmy Fallon, who will take over his show on Feb.17. "I can go out on a school night now," Leno said. "I've never been out in 22 years on a Wednesday night." Leno said Fallon will "do terrific."

Leno said the network could use someone younger in the Tonight Show spot: "I mean there really is a true generation gap," he said. "When I see him do a dance number with Justin Timberlake well ... I can't do that. I get it."

If it were up to him, Leno wouldn't leave the show. "It's not my decision, and I think I probably would have stayed if we didn't have an extremely qualified, young guy ready to jump in. (Jimmy Fallon) is probably more like a young Johnny (Carson) than almost anybody since. And he's really good ... So you go with the new guy. Makes perfect sense to me."

Leno plans to continue doing stand-up comedy, saying that he is not at retirement age yet. "I was always a road comic," he said. "This was just my day job."