Jimmy Fallon apologizes to staff for fostering a toxic workplace and Jerry Seinfeld claps back

Yesterday we reported on the bombshell Rolling Stone exposé alleging that The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon has fostered a toxic workplace, causing employees and staffers to suffer from  mental health issues and suicide ideation.

Now, it seems Fallon has taken the allegations seriously, and privately apologized to his staff over a team-wide Zoom call.

Speaking again with Rolling Stone, two unnamed staffers told the outlet that after the story published, Fallon and The Tonight Show showrunner Chris Miller joined the team on a Zoom call where they both reportedly apologized.

Saying he didn’t intend to “create that type of atmosphere for the show,” Fallon reportedly told his employees, “It’s embarrassing and I feel so bad. Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends… I feel so bad I can’t even tell you.” The two staffers said that Fallon’s apology seemed to be in “earnest.”

“I want the show to be fun, [it] should be inclusive to everybody,” Fallon said, according to the staffers. “It should be the best show.”

While NBC has not addressed the exposé’s claims specifically, they did release a statement, that said, “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. 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.”

Another big claim in the original Rolling Stone article was the assertion that Fallon’s belittling of a cue card guy made guest celebrity Jerry Seinfeld uncomfortable, prompting the funny man to instruct Fallon to apologize to the employee. Now, Seinfeld has refuted that claim, telling Rolling Stone he remembers that moment differently, and that the staffers have spun that moment in an “idiotic” way.

“This is so stupid,” Seinfled told Rolling Stone in a statement. “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.”

Rolling Stone spoke with 80 former and current staffers of The Tonight Show, many of whom have alleged Fallon was frequently inebriated on set, belligerent, temperamental, and difficult to work under. As such, many of them reported suffering from mental health issues due to the toxic work environment. You can read the original reporting over at Rolling Stone.