Michael Jackson's lawyers say a gag order in his child molestation case bars late-night TV host Jay Leno from telling jokes but that is not stopping Leno -- he's found another way to poke fun at the pop star.

As he prepares to challenge Jackson's lawyers in court on Friday, the star of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" has instituted a running gag of his own, enlisting a parade of other comics to tell Jackson jokes on the program.

Since last Friday, Leno has turned over a portion of his opening monologue each night to the likes of Brad Garrett, Dennis Miller and Roseanne, who deliver their own one-liners about the self-styled King of Pop and his legal quandaries.

During her appearance on the show Tuesday night, Roseanne joked that Jackson's two ex-wives showed up at his trial when a video was shown of his house because "they always wanted to see what his bedroom looked like."

She went on: "Defense lawyers say they might have Michael testify. They don't really want him to, but doctors believe it's the only way they can get his nose to grow back."

Jackson is charged with molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at his Neverland Valley Ranch in Central California after plying the youngster with alcohol. Defense lawyers have argued that the family of Jackson's accuser concocted their story in a bid to extort money from the entertainer.

Suggesting that the accuser's mother also sought money from Leno and other celebrities in the past, defense lawyers have listed the "Tonight Show" host as a potential witness, arguing he is thus subject to a gag order imposed in the case by Santa Barbara County Judge Rodney Melville.

But NBC has taken the position that Leno is exempt from the gag order in his capacity as a performer.

In papers filed last month, Leno's lawyers sought a court order expressly ruling that the gag order does not apply to Leno and arguing that subjecting the comedian to the gag order would amount to a prior restraint of free speech, in violation of the First Amendment.

In their response, Jackson's lawyers said "entertainment personalities" are not exempt from Melville's order.