Jared Leto Recalls Entering Pandemic 'Zombie Apocalypse' on Tonight Show

Jared Leto explained to Jimmy Fallon what it was like coming out of a meditation retreat and into a world in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, People reports.

On Monday, Leto appeared on "The Tonight Show," where he recalled that "there were about 150 cases" when he left for his retreat. After spending only twelve days detached from the outside world, "when I came out, there was a shutdown, a state of emergency and the whole world had changed."

Due to the nature of the silent meditation retreat, nobody had access to phones, internet, and television, Leto says, "and the teachers [made] a decision: 'Let's not disturb the participants.'"

Leto said once he turned on his phone, driving back to Los Angeles, he was "kind of shocked... I drove the whole way trying to be peaceful and zen, keeping the feeling going." He explained that while meditation had provided him with a way of contending with such a profound change to life, "I don't think anything can quite prepare any of us for what we all went through in the beginning. It was like coming out to the zombie apocalypse."

As EDGE reported last year, Leto took to social media to express his shock, saying "Wow. 12 days ago I began a silent meditation in the desert. We were totally isolated. No phone, no communication etc. We had no idea what was happening outside the facility.

"Walked out yesterday into a very different world. One that's been changed forever. Mind blowing - to say the least. I'm getting messages from friends and family all around the globe and catching up on what's going on.

"Hope you and yours are ok. Sending positive energy to all. Stay inside. Stay safe."