After this report published, however, Fallon apologized to staffers in an all-hands Zoom call. Representatives for Fallon would not comment on the record for this story. Nor would any of the program’s nine showrunners since 2014 comment about the program’s namesake on the record – they wouldn’t even give statements of support, as is common in the entertainment industry. While many of them praised Fallon’s immense talent and comedic gifts, not a single one agreed to speak on the record or had positive things to say about working on The Tonight Show. After reaching out to representatives for Fallon and NBC, Rolling Stone reached out to an additional 30 current and former staffers. Rolling Stone contacted more than 50 Tonight Show employees, past and present, during the reporting for this story. It’s sad that it’s like that, especially knowing that it doesn’t have to be that way.” “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. “It’s a bummer because it was my dream job,” one former employee says. The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon. GERARDO MORA/FILMMAGIC Many of the former staffers say they left the show because of their mental health some say they were fired from The Tonight Show. They worked in a range of positions on the show, from production crew members to office staffers and in the show’s writers’ room. The former staffers who spoke to Rolling Stone requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. These staffers say it was commonplace to hear people joking about “wanting to kill themselves,” and that they would refer to guests’ dressing rooms in the office as “crying rooms” because that’s where they would go to let out their emotions when they were upset with their alleged mistreatment. Seven former employees say their mental health was impacted by their alleged experiences working at The Tonight Show. Many of these staffers voiced their concerns through HR complaints, but problems at The Tonight Show persisted. Employees describe being afraid of Fallon’s “outbursts” and unexpected, inconsistent behavior. Former employees describe The Tonight Show as a tense and “pretty glum atmosphere,” with some alleging they were belittled and intimidated by their bosses, including Fallon himself. They say the ugly environment behind the scenes starts at the top with Fallon’s erratic behavior, and has trickled down to its ever-changing leadership teams - nine showrunners in the past nine years - who seemingly don’t know how to say no to Jimmy. This could be awful - this could be the end of the show right here.’” Another staffer says they too witnessed the incident from a live studio feed inside their office.Īccording to two current and 14 former employees, The Tonight Show has been a toxic workplace for years - far outside the boundaries of what’s considered normal in the high-pressure world of late-night TV. “He couldn’t remember he had just crossed it out himself,” the employee says. They say Fallon seemed to be confused during rehearsal that day in 2017 when he crossed out jokes on the piece of paper he was holding, riffed with the audience for a bit, then quizzically looked back down at the same sheet of paper. Employees who spoke to Rolling Stone about their experiences working on The Tonight Show say it’s common knowledge behind the scenes that there are “good Jimmy days” - where Fallon’s wit and charm and creativity are on full display - and “bad Jimmy days.” This was a “bad Jimmy day,” according to the employee. Then he stumbled through rehearsal in front of a studio audience, who typically sit in on rehearsals for the late-night show. The host, known for his warm and congenial presence onscreen, was acting especially dismissive and irritable during production meetings, a former longtime employee tells Rolling Stone. It was a particularly tense day on the set of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
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