NBC’s Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon recently apologized to staff following allegations of a “toxic” work environment created by the comedian.
After Rolling Stone published their story, a Zoom call with staff from the show was held where Fallon reportedly said he did not intend “to create that type of atmosphere for the show,” according to a follow-up story made by the publication, citing unnamed employees who were on the call.
“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 said during the call. “I want the show to be fun, [it] should be inclusive to everybody. It should be the best show.”
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The investigation into the show’s toxic workplace includes 16 of its former and current staff members who initially described Fallon’s behavior as “erratic” – depending on whether he was having a “good Jimmy day” or a “bad Jimmy day.”
Jimmy Fallon, Ellen DeGeneres and James Corden battling for worst boss: pic.twitter.com/2YmtbqPPzt
— Danny Armstrong (@DArmstrong44) September 7, 2023
According to Rolling Stone’s original story, the guests’ dressing rooms were referred to as “crying rooms.”
“Writing for late night is a lot of people’s dream jobs, and they’re coming into this and it becomes a nightmare very quickly,” an anonymous person told the magazine.
They added, “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.”
In the nine years since “The Tonight Show” has be on air, there have been an estimated six leadership teams and nine showrunners. This has allegedly caused some staff members to lose faith in its very leaders, with some employees accusing showrunners of bullying and racist microaggressions. Some employees even expressed distrust towards their HR representatives.
“The Tonight Show” has not aired since this past May when the writers’ strike began. Fallon has recently joined forces with other TV hosts including Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, to create a new podcast called Strike Force Five. All proceeds from the episodes are said to be going to “out-of-work staff from the hosts’ respective shows.”
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