Following toxic workplace allegations made yesterday toward Jimmy Fallon with respect to his The Tonight Show employees, he has made an apology for his “embarrassing” behavior.
A scathing Rolling Stone expose featured testimonies from previous and current employees accusing the comedian and late night host of seemingly drinking alcohol while working and taking out his emotions on his staff. While a former employee shared that “sometimes we would get nice Jimmy,” they noted “that sometimes was not a lot.”
According to Rolling Stone, Fallon held a Zoom meeting with The Tonight Show‘s showrunner Chris Miller, where he addressed the allegations and apologized to his staff. Two employees who were in attendance at the meeting told the outlet that he said he never intended to “create that type of atmosphere for the show,” and deemed the situation “embarrassing.”
“Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends… I feel so bad I can’t even tell you,” Fallon reportedly said.
“I want the show to be fun, [it] should be inclusive to everybody,” he allegedly added. “It should be the best show.”
Fallon acknowledged the high turnover in showrunners — the show has had nine different showrunners since 2014 — by describing current showrunner Miller as “a great leader.”
According to the report, the apology felt “pretty earnest” to employees.
Decider reached out to a rep for The Tonight Show and Fallon, but did not hear back by time of publication.
“We are incredibly proud of The Tonight Show, and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority,” an NBC spokesperson told Rolling Stone. “As in any workplace, we have had employees raise issues; those have been investigated and action has been taken where appropriate.”
They added, “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.”
Since the allegations, some have come to Fallon’s defense, including comedian Jerry Seinfeld. After one former employee told Rolling Stone about an “uncomfortable” moment that Seinfeld reportedly witnessed between Fallon and one of his staffers, Seinfeld called it an “idiotic twisting of events.”
A current employee told People that Fallon is “super communicative” and “a really, really positive guy,” noting that “he makes a point of commending you when you do a great job and when he’s happy.”
“And any feedback I’ve received is always I like, ‘Hey, we don’t need to do that again,'” they continued. “It’s been very constructive and helpful for me in continuing to put together a show that he’s happy with. I’ve never been belittled, yelled at, nothing like that. It’s all exactly how a boss should give feedback to an employee.”
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon has been renewed by NBC through 2026. The show is currently on hiatus amid the WGA and SAFG-AFTRA strikes.