The host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" Jay Leno was called in to testify for the defense in regards to his relationship with the Arvizos. Leno made approximately twenty phone calls to sick children each week and began receiving voicemail messages from Gavin, then a ten-year-old cancer patient, in 2000. Gavin referred to Leno as his hero. Leno said, "It seemed a little unusual." The comedian was contacted by the Santa Barbara police and questioned about Gavin. Leno admitted his misgivings, saying, "It sounded suspicious when a young person got overly effusive. It just didn't click with me." During a phone call from Gavin once, Leno said he heard a voice in the background but was unsure who it was. The defense argued that it was Janet Arvizo telling her son what to say. Leno said the boy never asked him for money; the defense argued that Jackson was merely one of many celebrities that the Arvizos sought to profit from.