The “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon apologized to his workers on Thursday afternoon after a news article described the set of his present as being a “toxic workplace.”
Mr. Fallon, whose present has not aired new episodes for greater than 4 months due to the writers’ strike, informed the workers throughout a digital assembly: “It’s embarrassing, and I feel so bad.”
The article, revealed by Rolling Stone, mentioned 14 former workers members and two present staff alleged that Mr. Fallon’s “erratic behavior” had helped to gasoline an unhealthy work surroundings.
“If I ever mistreated anybody, or made you feel bad, that was not my goal,” he mentioned within the assembly, in response to a workers member who was current. “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. I just wanted to say I miss you guys.”
NBC launched an announcement on Thursday saying: “We are incredibly proud of ‘The Tonight Show,’ and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority. As in any workplace, we have had employees raise issues; those have been investigated, and action has been taken where appropriate.”
On Friday, a spokeswoman for NBCUniversal mentioned Mr. Fallon and the present weren’t underneath investigation as a result of the allegations within the article have been years outdated and had been addressed by the corporate.
Rolling Stone reported that in a taping with the comic Jerry Seinfeld, Mr. Fallon had scolded a workers member holding a cue card. The article went on to report that Mr. Seinfeld had compelled Mr. Fallon to apologize to the worker, and that different workers members had described the second as “uncomfortable.”
Mr. Seinfeld despatched an announcement to Rolling Stone after the article was revealed that mentioned: “This is so stupid. I remember this moment quite well. I teased Jimmy about a flub, and we all had a fun laugh about how rarely Jimmy is thrown off. It was not uncomfortable at all. Jimmy and I still occasionally recall it and laugh. Idiotic twisting of events.”
Mr. Fallon took over internet hosting duties of “The Tonight Show,” the storied NBC establishment that has existed because the Fifties, in 2014. His present instantly scored large scores, a development that continued even after CBS put in Stephen Colbert as David Letterman’s alternative on “The Late Show” in September 2015.
Mr. Fallon’s light-touch method to the present — with an emphasis on singing, dancing and enjoying video games — appeared to match the nationwide temper.
But not lengthy after Mr. Fallon tousled the hair of Donald J. Trump, who was then a Republican presidential candidate, in a 2016 interview, his present’s scores started to slip.
In early 2017, simply as Mr. Trump took over the White House, viewership for Mr. Colbert’s “The Late Show” eclipsed “The Tonight Show,” as Mr. Colbert and plenty of late-night hosts started delivering pointed political monologues, a course that Mr. Fallon shied away from. Though viewership for all late-night reveals has fallen lately, Mr. Colbert has continued to greatest Mr. Fallon.
During the scores slide, Mr. Fallon has gone by quite a lot of showrunner modifications.
Mr. Fallon, in addition to different late-night hosts, together with Mr. Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver, started broadcasting a podcast collectively final week referred to as “Strike Force Five.” Proceeds from the present are being given to their out-of-work workers members because the writers’ strike has saved their reveals darkish for 129 days and counting.
Chris Miller, who has been the “Tonight Show” showrunner since 2022, despatched an e-mail to workers members on Thursday shortly after the Rolling Stone article was revealed.
“While I know the reporter reached out to many of you before the piece ran, I don’t believe what’s written is reflective of the overall culture of our extraordinary team that I’m so lucky and proud to work with every day,” he wrote. “The place described in the article is not the place I know. Still, it’s disappointing to see something published that does not capture the positive and inclusive environment I believe we have created together.”
Source: www.nytimes.com