Jimmy Fallon has reportedly apologized to staff members on The Tonight Show following the publication of a Rolling Stone article alleging the fostering of a toxic workplace at the long-running late-night show. “It’s embarrassing and I feel so bad. Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends… I feel so bad I can’t even tell you. [I didn't intend to] create that type of atmosphere for the show. I want the show to be fun, [it] should be inclusive to everybody. It should be the best show," Fallon reportedly told staff members over Zoom.
The apology comes after Rolling Stone published the testimony of 14 current and former staff members. “It was like, if Jimmy is in a bad mood, everyone’s day is fucked. It was very much like, focus on whatever it is that you have to do because Jimmy’s in a bad mood, and if he sees that, he might fly off," one former staffer claimed. Others alleged that Fallon would often perform erratically, leading many to suspect that he had a drinking problem and was taping shows drunk. NBC and Fallon did not respond to requests for follow-ups from multiple outlets.
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Long History Of Toxicity Alleged Against Fallon
“Nobody told Jimmy, ‘No.’ Everybody walked on eggshells, especially showrunners,” a former employee told the magazine. “You never knew which Jimmy we were going to get and when he was going to throw a hissy fit. Look how many showrunners went so quickly. We know they didn’t last long.” Another former staffer recalled a moment from 2017. “He couldn’t remember he had just crossed it [a joke] out himself,” the employee says. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, he [seems] drunk. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. This could be awful — this could be the end of the show right here.’”
"Seven former employees say their mental health was impacted by their alleged experiences working at The Tonight Show. These staffers say it was commonplace to hear people joking about “wanting to kill themselves,” and that they would refer to guests’ dressing rooms in the office as “crying rooms” because that’s where they would go to let out their emotions when they were upset with their alleged mistreatment," the article also notes. “Mentally, I was in the lowest place of my life. I didn’t want to live anymore, I thought about taking my own life all the time,” one former employee says. “I knew deep down I would never actually do it, but in my head, I’m like, ‘Why do I think about this all the time?’”
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