Jimmy Fallon Apologizes, Reports Abuse on The Tonight Show – Variety

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Jimmy Fallon apologized to “Tonight Show” staff Thursday afternoon following a Rolling Stone report about his behavior on the venerable NBC late-night show over the years.

“It’s embarrassing and I feel so bad. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and your friends,” Fallon said during a Zoom meeting with the “Tonight” staff, Variety has learned. “I feel so bad I can’t even tell you,” he told attendees during the reportedly brief meeting. : “I want this show to be fun, and it has to be inclusive, and it has to be funny, and it has to be the best show, and the best people.”

Several former employees of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” He spoke to Rolling Stone About what they described as a toxic work environment behind the scenes of the NBC late-night show. Some of these employees said their mental health deteriorated during their time on the show, as they claimed that Fallon could lash out under pressure. Nine different directors have run “Tonight” since Fallon succeeded Jay Leno in 2014, and the lack of tenure in that position — there’s much less turnover on Comedy Central’s “Daily Show,” NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on ABC. CBS’s “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” is said to have exacerbated the situation.

NBC declined to make executives available for comment.

Show insiders have pointed to an era of stability since Chris Miller was appointed show director in March last year. Miller, who has worked with Drew Barrymore and his production company Flower Films for 23 years, says he spent a significant amount of time managing different backers behind a piece of entertainment. One of the people he struck up a relationship with during that period was Nancy Juvonen, Fallon’s wife and Barrymore’s longtime producing partner. Early in his tenure on the show, Miller attempted to focus the program on Fallon’s strengths such as impressions, graphics, and music, and steer the program away from heavy doses of political humor.

No one told Jimmy: No. “Everyone walked on eggshells, especially the models,” a former employee told the magazine. “You never know which Jimmy we’re going to get and when he’s going to have a hissing fit. Look how many models are gone so fast. We know they didn’t last long.”

The show allegedly had a “crying room” on set where employees could decompress due to the hostile work environment.

“It was like Jimmy was in a bad mood and everyone was having a bad day,” one former employee said. “People couldn’t joke around in the office, they wouldn’t stand up and talk to each other. It was very much like, concentrate on whatever you have to do because Jimmy’s in a bad mood, and if he saw that, he might fly away.

One employee also claimed that Fallon appeared drunk at work during rehearsal and did not remember crossing out a joke in his notes. “He couldn’t remember crossing out that letter himself,” the employee said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s him.’ [seems] drunk. He doesn’t know what to do. “This could be terrible – this could be the end of the show here.”

Fallon’s “Tonight Show” is currently on hiatus due to strikes by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions that represent writers and actors.