Yesterday, Rolling Stone released a story detailing a toxic work environment at The Tonight Show, with allegations specifically against host Jimmy Fallon. Fallon, of course, took over the job back in 2014, after hosting the Late Night program for five years.
Details on the report against Jimmy Fallon.
Yesterday, Rolling Stone released a story detailing a toxic work environment at The Tonight Show, with allegations specifically against host Jimmy Fallon. Fallon, of course, took over the job back in 2014, after hosting the Late Night program for five years.
In the report, two current and fourteen former employees alleged that “the ugly environment behind the scenes starts at the top with Fallon’s erratic behavior, and has trickled down to its ever-changing leadership teams — nine showrunners in the past nine years — who seemingly don’t know how to say no to Jimmy.”
The story also alleges that 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.”
Following the story hitting the news yesterday, Fallon reportedly held a Zoom conference with his entire staff to address the allegations.
What did Jimmy Fallon have to say?
“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.” Fallon told his staff. “I want this show to be fun, it should be inclusive for everybody, it should be funny, it should be the best show, the best people.”
Fallon then added that he did not intend to “create that type of atmosphere for the show.” He also praised current showrunner Chris Miller, saying that he thinks he’ll “be around for a long time.”
According to one staff member, the apology “felt earnest.” Miller, who is also listed in the Rolling Stone piece, emailed the staff separately.
Miller wrote, “While I know the reporter reached out to many of you before the piece ran, I don’t believe what’s written is reflective of the overall culture of our extraordinary team that I’m so lucky and proud to work with every day. The place described in the article is not the place I know. Still, it’s disappointing to see something published that does not capture the positive and inclusive environment I believe we have created together.”
NBC also released their own statement in the initial Rolling Stone piece, while not addressing Fallon by name.
“We are incredibly proud of The Tonight Show, and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority,” the spokesperson said. “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.”
