Jimmy Fallon apologizes to Tonight Show staff, but his 'heavy drinking' had NBC bosses worried
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Following 16 of his current and former staffers’ accusations of drinking and creating a “toxic” work environment on the sets, the ‘Tonight Show’ host Jimmy Fallon has apologized.
Per Variety, the 48-year-old host got on a Zoom call with his employees on Thursday, September 7, evening and asked for forgiveness.
He allegedly told the staff members, “Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends…I feel so bad I can't even tell you,” per two members who attended the meeting, reports Rolling Stone.
The news outlet previously investigated Fallon’s “erratic” behavior on the sets of his namesake show.
During the brief meeting, he apparently said, “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.”
The two staff members further claimed that they felt Fallon’s words “felt pretty earnest” while he was apologizing.
What are the accusations against Jimmy Fallon?
Two of his current staff members and several former colleagues told Rolling Stone about Fallon’s not-so-usual workplace behavior.
Two of the staffers said they witnessed him under the influence at work of late. Two others said, they smelled alcohol in his breath when the popular comedian entered the elevator with them on two separate occasions in 2019 and 2020.
Eight of the complaining staff members also claimed that Fallon’s behavior on set would depend on the fact whether he was hungover, per Daily Mail.
They also claimed the office would have a “cry room” for the employees who would need to shake off the depressing thoughts that stemmed from Fallon’s “outbursts."
Moreover, these “outbursts” would subsequently become the reason for a “pretty glum atmosphere."
One former employee quipped, “It was like, if Jimmy is in a bad mood, everyone’s day is f**ked.”
They explained, “People wouldn’t joke around in the office, and they wouldn’t stand around and talk to each other. It was very much like, focus on whatever it is that you have to do because Jimmy’s in a bad mood, and if he sees that, he might fly off.”
Among the allegations, one former employee said the environment shifted during the transition from 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' to 'The Tonight Show'.
''The producers felt this pressure, and that translated down to all of their employees. People that worked under them then felt this pressure that if you made one mistake, you were gone and would be easily replaced,'' one former employee said.
''You have all these NBC pages in the building who are ready, willing, and waiting to take your job.''
Among the former employees, several quipped that they had to leave the show because of their mental health conditions. Seven of them even claimed their overall well-being was also being impacted.
One of them said, “Nobody told Jimmy, "No,” before adding, “Everybody walked on eggshells, especially showrunners.”
“You never knew which Jimmy we were going to get and when he was going to throw a hissy fit. Look how many showrunners went so quickly. We know they didn’t last long,” was another allegation against Fallon.
While the general lack of well-being highlighted most of the staff members’ complaints, they also felt that they did not have the proper mode of retaliation.
One complainant said, “I know other people who were in [my] department who also were unhappy with [mis]treatment but it was never a thing where any of us were empowered enough to say anything.”
They added, “It just always felt like, "You should be grateful that you have a job, and you should be grateful that you have this position at this show, at this network. Everyone wants to be in this spot. You have worked hard to get here — it shouldn’t be a thing where you’re being ungrateful."'
Few even had suicidal thoughts because of the work pressure, saying, “Mentally, I was in the lowest place of my life. I didn’t want to live anymore.”
The former employee continued, “I thought about taking my own life all the time,” before adding, “I knew deep down I would never actually do it, but in my head, I’m like, "Why do I think about this all the time?"”
In a statement, an NBC spokesperson also supported the show and Fallon stating, “We are incredibly proud of The Tonight Show, and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority.”
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,” continued the spokesperson in the statement.
Are the accusations against Jimmy Fallon true?
Since the explosive report came out, many people came out in support of the talk show host. One source close to the show shared with Daily Mail that, “The things being reported in this article happened years ago and just aren’t reflective of the atmosphere today.”
“Nobody is denying that things happened in the past, but any previous issues have been dealt with and everyone has moved on since then,” added the source.
They continued, “A lot of these are old anecdotes that have already been reported and it’s unclear to everyone why they’re being brought up again years later.”
The source further claimed, “So many current staff members have positive things to say about the show but they aren’t being given a chance,” while voicing, “This isn’t who Jimmy is and this isn’t in any way what the show is like today.”
Jimmy Fallon’s history of alcoholism
This is, however, not the first time that concerns rose about the ‘Saturday Night Live’ alum’s drinking. Page Six reported in 2016 that some top-ranking NBC executives even warned Fallon of his behavior.
An insider told the outlet in 2016, “There were fears that Fallon was out of control and something could happen while he’s out drinking."
The insider added, “Things got so serious at one stage that execs feared that Jimmy was splitting up with his wife [Nancy Juvonen] over his drinking, but they patched things up.”
Another source claiming he was a “heavy drinker” said, “He sees himself as somebody who needs image rehabilitation.”
In 2015, Fallon had three injuries back-to-back, which were attributed to his alleged alcohol problem.
In 2017, however, in an interview with the New York Times, Fallon refuted the claims of his “excessive” drinking and said, “I could never do a day-to-day job if I was drinking every night. That’s just kicking you when you’re down.”