Jay ate the veggies.

First lady Michelle Obama cajoled Jay Leno into nibbling on apples, sweet potato fries and a pizza made with eggplant, green peppers and zucchini on the “Tonight Show,” breaking his long-held aversion for all-things-healthy in his diet.

Leno once told a magazine he hadn’t eaten a vegetable since 1969, and he insisted he tasted his last apple in 1984. That didn’t dissuade the first lady, who’s promoting her “Let’s Move!” campaign to get kids excited about fitness and healthy eating habits.

Earlier, Obama poked at him in a Twitter post, hinting she’d “get Jay to eat some veggies” on the NBC show.

He did.

“That does smell very good. I assume this is sausage-pepperoni,” the comedian quipped as he eyed the pizza made with a whole-wheat crust.

She convinced Leno to dip an apple in honey made from beehives in the White House garden: “It will help it go down easier,” she assured him.

“White House honey? That sounds bad,” Leno told her. “You know, with a different president that could mean a whole different thing, ‘a little White House honey.’”

The first lady is on a two-day swing through California where she’ll promote her initiative while attending two events to help Democrats raise money for the upcoming elections.

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A Muslim militant has urged American followers to assassinate talk show host David Letterman, saying his tongue deserved to be cut out, a U.S. intelligence monitoring group said on Wednesday.

The SITE intelligence group said the death threat was posted on an online website used by militants after the writer became upset by a joke Letterman made about the death of a leading member of al Qaeda killed in an air strike in Pakistan.

The militant called on Muslims in the United States to “cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever,” the threat against Letterman said, according to a translation by SITE. The popular late-night television host is not Jewish.

The FBI said it was taking the threat seriously.

The writer was angered by watching Letterman on his show drawing his finger across his neck while talking about the June death of senior al Qaeda figure Ilyas Kashmiri.

The message was posted on the website Shumukh al-Islam. SITE analyst Adam Raisman told Entertainment Weekly the website was “a clearing house for al Qaeda material” and drew supporters of the group headed by the late Osama bin Laden.

Executives at broadcaster CBS and a spokesman for Letterman declined on Wednesday to comment on the threat.

Tim Flannelly, an FBI spokesman in New York, said the agency was looking into the matter.

“The FBI takes all threats seriously and we will run it down like we do all threats,” Flannelly said.

A Muslim group in 2010 threatened the makers of “South Park” after the animated satirical show depicted the Prophet Mohammad in a bear suit. Most Muslims consider any depiction of the founder of Islam as offensive.

A 21-year old man from Virginia was sentenced in February to 25 years in prison for publishing the home addresses of the “South Park” creators and urging readers to pay them a visit, as well as trying to help a Somali militant group.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Peter Cooney)

Steve Martorano, the cook and restaurateur whose eateries include Cafe Martorano in Oakland Park and at the Seminole Hard Rock, is making an appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight at midnight.

Martorano, who is known for his South Philly style and his heavily muscled physique as much as his cooking, will be promoting his new book, Yo Cuz! My Life, My Food, My Way, along with his Internet-based cooking show, Yo Cuz: The Italian-American Cook.

As usual, Jay Leno wasn’t feeling the Emmy love on Thursday morning.

But another late-night host who briefly wore the “Tonight Show” crown, Conan O’Brien, got a warm Emmy reception for his first season as a cable guy.

“Conan,” which premiered last November on TBS, scored four Emmy Award nominations. These include outstanding variety, music or comedy series, as well as a best writing nod, and a nomination for outstanding lighting.

Team Coco even snagged an Emmy nomination for outstanding commercial — the epic American Express promo that found Conan journeying to India in preparation for his new show (an ad that has since been viewed 2.5 million times on YouTube).

But Leno’s Emmy neglect isn’t quite as embarrassing as last year. Then, both versions of NBC’s late-night institution — Conan’s and Jay’s — would have qualified for Emmys. “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien” was nominated for best series and best writing. “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” came up dry. It won in 1995.

Hip-hop band the Roots have given Jimmy Fallon a boost as the house band on his late-night TV show. And he’s returning the favor.

Fallon will host the group’s seventh annual “Roots Jam Session” on Feb. 12 in Hollywood. The musical event, which features live performances from artists of various genres, is on the eve of the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, and the Roots is up for six awards, including best rap album for “How I Got Over.” The other five nominations come from the Philadelphia-based band’s collaborative album with John Legend, the critically acclaimed “Wake Up!”

Past “Jam Session” hosts include Legend, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Dave Chappelle. Performers have yet to be announced.

Conan O’Brien says he got a phone call from David Letterman over the holidays. The CBS host wanted to make sure a year of late-night TV turmoil hadn’t created a rift between them.

O’Brien told reporters Wednesday that he and Letterman have “always been good. I said he didn’t owe me a phone call, but I appreciated it.”

O’Brien wouldn’t be so receptive to a call from Jay Leno, who preceded and replaced him as “Tonight” show host.

He says the reason is no mystery, noting, “We all know the story.”

O’Brien’s new TBS show, called “Conan,” began in November. He says the past year’s upheaval has left him more willing to take chances onstage.

But he acknowledged some sadness at no longer being part of NBC.

He says, “That company meant a lot to me.”

Late-night rivals Jimmy Fallon and Craig Ferguson are filled with the Christmas spirit. They even sent each other gifts.

At the end of the monologue on NBC’s “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” the New York-based host showed viewers a photo of the present he had sent to Ferguson — a “beautiful, top-notch Christmas sweater” (in Fallon’s words) accented with both his face and Ferguson’s against a Christmas ornament.

“He’s over at CBS in L.A. and I know how cold it gets at night there,” Fallon explained.

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