Famed late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon recently apologized to his employees over a Rolling Stone report accusing him of creating a “toxic work environment.”
“It’s embarrassing and I feel so bad. Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends,” Fallon said during a Zoom meeting with employees of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” according to One America News (OAN).
“I feel so bad I can’t even tell you. 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 employee added.
Rolling Stone’s report claimed that two current employees of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” alongside 14 former employees, said the show’s working environment has been “far outside the boundaries” of what many would consider to be toxic and difficult, Sky News reported.
“It’s a bummer because it was my dream job,” one former employee said, per OAN. “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 sad that it’s like that, especially knowing that it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Other anonymous sources claimed that the toxic environment of the show began with those at the top, with Fallon constantly changing his attitude and behavior toward others, leading to the termination and installation in the show’s leadership teams. According to OAN, these sources said they were “belittled and intimidated” by their bosses, including Fallon.
Employees pointed to an incident in 2017 when Fallon, allegedly drunk, had a hard time going through rehearsal and forgot to cross out jokes on a sheet of paper.
The employees also detailed that their working life with Fallon prompted them to live in a “constant state of fear.”
'I DON'T WANT TO LIVE': Employees of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" are claiming the NBC production has been a "toxic workplace." https://t.co/2hOGc5w8zB pic.twitter.com/LO32UhaznV
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) September 8, 2023
“Mentally, I was in the lowest place of my life,” one ex-employee said. “I didn’t want to live anymore. I thought about taking my own life all the time. 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?”
