Richard Belzer on NBC and Jay Leno: "It's the last gasp of a dying network"

Richard Belzer, who stars on NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," slammed his network this afternoon at TV Press Tour for stripping Jay Leno's talk show across five hours of primetime in the fall 2009 season.

"It may be good for comedy, in a limited way, but it's a terrible, terrible trend for television," said Belzer, noting that he wasn't down on Leno per se but that the move puts thousands of actors, writers, producers and crew members who would otherwise working on the network's 10 p.m. dramas out of work.

"It's an act by a network that's desperate," Belzer continued. "It's the last gasp of a dying network. I think it's a tragedy, frankly."

Belzer hypothesized NBC couldn't punish him for speaking his mind since he's still under contract. And he took a swing at Dane Cook, too: "I wasn't aware that Mr. Cook was a comedian."