Martin Short and Jimmy Fallon 'fight' behind the curtains mid-interview: "Never disrespect me..."
'Only Murders in the Building' star Martin Short appeared in a December 2024 episode of 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' and beat the host in his own game— roasting. According to Mashable, Short began by calling out Jimmy Fallon: “You must be very excited because, in one month, you’re going to be pardoned for your role on January 6th."
During the episode, Short also fired at co-star Steve Martin who starred alongside Selena Gomez. He said, "He's [Martin] way into Christmas— he's already hung his compression stockings with care." Additionally, he dubbed Martin as “the palest, most ashen human being in the world." "He looks like Anderson Cooper froze to death on New Year’s Eve." As per The Daily Beast, he further quipped, “Selena is so protective of Steve. Sometimes I look over, and he’s sitting there, and she’s just holding a mirror under his nose to see if everything’s OK,”
Short soon reverted to Fallon when the latter asked if he needed some water. In response, Short invited Fallon for a "quick talk behind the curtain.” Subsequently, the studio audience heard Short yelling at Fallon. “What was that comment about the water all about? ...You’re trying to bring up my drinking problem, aren’t you?” The audience listened as their pretend heated argument escalated, with Short ultimately slapping Fallon. “Never, ever, ever disrespect me again, you Neanderthal-hairline bastard!” Short was heard snapping at Fallon. The two fought off-stage twice more during the segment. At one point, the fake feud became so fiery that Short took Fallon's grandmother's urn and slammed it on his head.
The skit was a reference to Short's struggle with alcohol addiction. In a blog for Alcohol Change, Short once shared, "It took me a long time to realize that drinking too much was the way I dealt with my crippling anxiety and depression. From the first time I had a drink with my mates in the park when I was about 14, I was the one who always took it to the extreme. When I drank, everything felt easier. I felt happier and like I was better at socializing."
He explained, "I got a job away from home, thinking it’d be a fresh start, but I felt lonely and isolated and a bit of a failure. Each night I’d tell myself I’d only buy half a litre of vodka to limit myself but then I’d get in my car to get more...I lost that job in the end and went back home. My parents didn’t know what to do...I felt somehow detached from it. I was taking a cocktail of alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis all the time." The actor revealed that it was his sister who eventually got him to go to rehab at 21.
