Editing Johnny Carson (section)

== Controversies and feuds ==
Carson often made jokes at the expense of other celebrities. In 1980, Carson backed out of a deal to acquire the [[Aladdin Hotel & Casino]] in Las Vegas, and a competing group led by [[Wayne Newton]] bought the property. According to lawyer Henry Bushkin, Carson became annoyed that he was portrayed in the media as having "lost" the deal and reacted by telling jokes on his show about Newton. This led to a feud between Carson and Newton. Years later, Newton appeared on ''[[Larry King Live]]'', declaring that "Johnny Carson is a mean-spirited human being. And there are people that he has hurt that people will never know about. And for some reason at some point, he decided to turn that kind of negative attention toward me. And I refused to have it."<ref name="justin">{{cite news | work=[[CNN]]| title=Wayne Newton on Larry King Live| url= http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0711/29/lkl.01.html| access-date=May 11, 2008}}</ref> Newton has often told of confronting Carson; ultimately, Newton barged into Carson's office at the NBC studios and threatened to beat him up unless he stopped making such jokes.<ref>Henry Bushkin. ''Johnny Carson.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2013, {{ISBN|978-0-544-21762-1}}, pp. 135–136.</ref>

On February 27, 1982, Carson was arrested for [[drunk driving]] on [[La Cienega Boulevard]], near [[Beverly Hills]]; he was released on his own [[recognizance]]. Carson pleaded no contest to the charges and, in October 1982, received a sentence of three years probation, was fined $603, and was required to attend a driver's education alcohol program. Carson's driving privilege was restricted to driving only to and from work and alcohol education classes for a period of 90 days.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
           
''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' actor [[Raymond Burr]] became angry over Carson's continuing jokes about his weight, and he appeared on ''The Tonight Show'' only twice, in 1968 and 1976.<ref>Michael S. Starr, "Hiding in Plain Sight", p. 184.</ref>

On July 2, 1969, Carson launched an on-air attack on ''The New York Times'' after his nightly monologue, assailing the newspaper for an article saying that he was the highest-paid performer on television, earning $75,000 ({{Inflation|US|75000|1969|fmt=eq}}) a week. He denied that was so, while declining to reveal his compensation in a subsequent interview with the newspaper, and called the article "damned unfair."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/07/03/archives/carson-denies-times-report-on-his-new-contract.html|title=Carson Denies Times Report on His New Contract|last=Gould|first=Jack|date=July 3, 1969|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 27, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''The Times'' published a follow-up article saying that its initial reporter "erred", and that $75,000 a week was unlikely.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/07/04/archives/report-on-income-of-carson-erred-75000-figure-found-to-be-unlikely.html|title=Report On Income Of Carson Erred; $75,000 Figure Found to Be Unlikely -- Data Are Secret|last=Gould|first=Jack|date=July 4, 1969|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 27, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Carson reportedly loathed what he perceived as disloyalty, and he was furious when former frequent ''Tonight Show'' guest hosts [[John Davidson (entertainer)|John Davidson]] and [[Joan Rivers]] began hosting their own talk shows. Rivers' show on the [[Fox Network]] directly competed with Carson during the 1986–1987 season before being canceled. On June 24, 2009, following Ed McMahon's death, Rivers spoke highly of McMahon on ''Larry King Live'', but said that after she got her own show, Carson refused to ever speak to her again, despite her efforts to apologize.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/23/joan-rivers-johnny-carson_n|title=219520.html-date=2009-06-23|website = [[HuffPost]]}}{{Full citation needed|date=November 2024}}</ref>

In December 1973, Carson joked on ''Tonight'' about an [[Toilet paper panic of 1973|alleged shortage]] of [[toilet paper]]. Viewers believed the story and [[panic buying]] and hoarding ensued across the United States as consumers emptied stores,<ref name=buchsbaum19861021>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X20tAAAAIBAJ&pg=3182%2C1867682 | title=On a roll: Unraveling the truth about toilet paper | work=Boston Phoenix | date=October 21, 1986 | access-date=May 10, 2012 | author=Buchsbaum, Susan | page=6}}</ref> [[Thomas theorem|causing a real shortage]] that lasted for weeks. Stores and toilet paper manufacturers had to ration supplies until the panic ended.<ref name="huntley19731227">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VepRAAAAIBAJ&pg=1485%2C752674 | title=Toilet Paper Shortage Hits Suncoast Shoppers | work=St. Petersburg Times | date=December 27, 1973 | access-date=May 10, 2012 | author=Huntley, Helen | pages=2–B}}</ref><ref name=wps19740114>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fR8qAAAAIBAJ&pg=4987%2C2267952 | title=Firm Allocates Toilet Paper | work=Milwaukee Journal | date=January 14, 1974 | agency=Washington Post Service | access-date=May 10, 2012 | pages=Accent 2 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Carson apologized in January 1974<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5-pRAAAAIBAJ&pg=7268%2C1823113 | title=Toilet Tissue Shortage: Real or Contrived? | work=St. Petersburg Times | date=January 18, 1974 | access-date=May 10, 2012 | pages=25–A}}</ref> for the incident, which became what ''The New York Times'' called a "classic study" of how rumors spread. Carson called references in the article to him "very unfair".<ref name="malcolm19740203">{{cite news | title=The 'Shortage' of Bathroom Tissue: A Classic Study in Rumor | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/03/archives/the-shortage-of-bathroom-tissue-a-classic-study-in-rumor-shortage.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=February 3, 1974 | access-date=July 5, 2013 | author=Malcolm, Andrew H. | page=29}}</ref>

Carson successfully sued a manufacturer of portable toilets that wanted to call its product "Here's Johnny".<ref>Carson v. Here's Johnny Portable Toilets, Inc., 810 F.2d 104, 105 (6th Cir. 1987)</ref>

Carson performed a parody of ''[[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]''.<ref name="RogersSpoof">{{cite web |title=Johnny Carson in an "adult-version" sketch of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1978) |website = [[YouTube]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNB27Tu6-og | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/KNB27Tu6-og| archive-date=October 28, 2021|access-date=November 29, 2019 |language=en}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Rogers noted, "I've told Johnny that I like humor as much as anybody. But what concerns me is the takeoffs that make me seem so ''wimpy''! I hope it doesn't communicate that Mr. Rogers is just somebody to be made fun of. Only people who take the time to see our work can begin to understand the depth of it."<ref name="TimesRogers">{{cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Glenn |title=TV's Mr. Rogers: A Busy Surrogate Dad |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 19, 1983 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1983/06/19/231804.html?pageNumber=235 |language=en}}</ref> Carson later apologized to Rogers for making fun of him.<ref>{{Cite news|first=John|last=Phillips|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114603990/john-phillips-say-no-goodbyes/|title=Say no to goodbyes|date=February 27, 2003|work=Indiana Gazette|access-date=December 14, 2022|page=12|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>