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"I'm With CoCo!" As Haggling Continues, Conan O'Brien Supporters Plan Protests, Promise Loyalty
As NBC and Conan O'Brien come close to reaching an agreement, fans of the late night host are planning protests.
A settlement that would let former "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno reclaim the job from O'Brien, and allow O'Brien to leave the network, could come as early as today, ABCNews.com reports.
NBC will reportedly pay the ousted host between $30 and $40 million, a source close to contract negotiations told ABC.
Other "Tonight Show" staffers - many who followed O'Brien from New York to Los Angeles when he left "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" to take over the "Tonight Show" from Leno – will reportedly receive severance and buy-out packages.
Negotiations began last Wednesday, a day after O'Brien announced his refusal to go along with NBC's proposal to move his "Tonight Show" later, so that "The Jay Leno Show" could occupy the 11:35 p.m. time slot.
The staff severance packages are an apparent sticking point in contract negotiations, says ABC, since O'Brien's team wants "to make sure everyone's treated really well," says their source.
O'Brien isn't the only one offended by NBC's move. Fans in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle were planning to hold rallies to "show love" for O'Brien, whom they call "CoCo."
"I don't think we're going to change NBC's stance on what they want to do with late night – I think that's already been inked," rally organizer Mike Mitchell told ABC. "I think hopefully we're going to show Conan's got a huge following and we're behind him no matter where he ends up."
Mitchell also runs the Facebook group, "I'm With COCO," which grew from 200 to more than 315,000 members in days.
"Now is just a good time to support him because he's kind of been put in a tough spot and people can relate to his situation," the 27-year-old freelance illustrator says. "Everybody's had a bad boss that has maybe put them in a position that they didn't want to be in."
Even O'Brien's crew members are part of the movement.
"Everybody on the show has 'I'm With Coco' avatars on Facebook," Mitchell says. "I know personally they want to follow Conan wherever he goes. . . They love him and they respect him."
Meanwhile, the last "Tonight Show" featuring O'Brien as host is set to air this Friday.
Sources: NBC, NY Daily News, MSNBC, Facebook, Youtube
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