Jimmy Fallon’s Lack of Public Apology Upsets Former ‘Tonight Show’ Staffers
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
In his first show back following the writers’ strike on Monday, Jimmy Fallon didn’t address allegations about The Tonight Show’s workplace environment published in a Rolling Stone investigation from September. Fallon privately apologized to current staffers in a Zoom meeting on the same day the investigation was published, but former employees who spoke to Rolling Stone now say they’re disappointed the talk show host has not publicly addressed the workplace allegations in any way.
Fallon’s internal message wasn’t directed toward them, they say, and as long as he doesn’t publicly apologize to former staffers they say they don’t feel seen or heard.
More from Rolling Stone
Jelly Roll Wars With Angels, Demons While 'Halfway to Hell' on Fallon
Jimmy Fallon Doesn't Address Workplace Allegations in 'Tonight Show' Return
“I don’t know what the full apology was like because I wasn’t there, so it’s great if people who still work there got some closure out of it but as someone who was not spoken to it’s hard for me to feel like there’s any closure,” one former employee tells Rolling Stone. “Would I have loved that apology to some extent, whether it be from NBC or Jimmy directly, have gotten to former staff? Yes. I would think that that would be the most accountable and responsible thing to do, especially when you consider the turnover that has happened since The Tonight Show started and so many people who spoke up no longer work at the show.”
Rolling Stone spoke with two current and 14 former staffers who said that the constant change in showrunners and leadership teams, as well as Fallon’s allegedly erratic behavior, created an unhealthy work environment that led to their mental health being impacted. Many employees say they made complaints to HR.
Not only has Fallon not used his platform on The Tonight Show to acknowledge the workplace allegations, but he also hasn’t mentioned it to the press, on his social media accounts, or even on the podcast Strike Force Five he co-hosted with other late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver.
In his private apology to current staffers, Fallon said he didn’t intend to “create that type of atmosphere for the show.”
“It’s embarrassing and I feel so bad,” he said, according to two employees who attended the meeting. “Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends… I feel so bad I can’t even tell you.”
The employees also said Fallon’s sentiments “felt pretty earnest” in the meeting.
“I want the show to be fun, [it] should be inclusive to everybody,” he continued. “It should be the best show.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for NBC said, “We are incredibly proud of The Tonight Show, and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority. As in any workplace, we have had employees raise issues; those have been investigated and action has been taken where appropriate. As is always the case, we encourage employees who feel they have experienced or observed behavior inconsistent with our policies to report their concerns so that we may address them accordingly.” Representatives for Fallon did not comment on the record.
“Maybe he considered saying something but I’m sure they were like, you know what, the more we address it the more press is on it, so it’s not worth saying anything,” another former staffer says. “But I do think there was a way for him to have done it that could’ve been delicate. I think a lot of former staff did tune into the show, myself included, hoping to hear something from him. I think we were all looking out for that and to not see it was disappointing.”
The employee continues, “It’s all the more painful to know they’ve consistently ignored it and refrained from taking any sense of accountability, especially because I think any person who spoke up would’ve wanted to feel like they were heard or acknowledged, but that’s impossible if the apology only went to current staff.”
When Fallon was criticized in 2020 for wearing blackface in an older Saturday Night Live sketch, he apologized to his audience on the air. “I can’t let a corporation give me a planned statement to say,” Fallon told The New York Times about the way he dealt with the incident. “I can’t ask a publicist to give me a planned statement.”
Former employees pointed to that moment as what they’d hoped to see from their former boss when he went back to 30 Rock earlier this week: A level of public accountability that was directed toward them, not just current staffers. On Monday night, Fallon reflected on his time away from The Tonight Show during the writers’ strike and told viewers, “I really love this job. I love doing it. I love telling jokes. I love interviewing people. I love making you laugh. I’m very lucky to have this show and I want to thank you all for supporting and choosing to have me in your bedrooms at nighttime. This is what I love to do and I want to do it for a long time.”
“It looked like he was close to going for it when he was sitting behind his desk and talking about being lucky to have the job. If he’s serious and feels lucky to have that show, it would be nice for him to apologize,” one former staffer says. “He owned it to the current staff, he didn’t deny it. A public acknowledgment would’ve been cathartic. There’s just not accountability. It would be nice if he would acknowledge publicly what he said privately in that meeting with current employees.”
While former employees say they’re disappointed Fallon hasn’t publicly taken accountability for the workplace allegations regarding his reign at The Tonight Show, they also say they’re not surprised because they think “the show and NBC obviously want this to go away.”
“I never really thought that they would publicly talk about it, to be honest,” one former staffer says. “I feel like it just draws more eyes to the problem and I wasn’t expecting that they were going to willingly remind everyone about the workplace allegations.”
The former employee says they’re “not wishing for anyone’s demise” and they’re hopeful the allegations inspire change behind the scenes at the show.
“I think he underestimates the power of his own outreach,” another former staffer says. “A lot of us would just love to hear from him.”
Best of Rolling Stone
