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News of current and former employees of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon alleging that the set has had a highly toxic work environment for years has left netizens aghast. According to the report published by Rolling Stone on Thursday, September 7, 2023, the staff was affected by the host's "erratic behavior."
The report cited fourteen former and two current employees and added that the show's atmosphere was "far outside the boundaries" of what could be considered normal high-pressure TV show production. One staff member stated:
"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.
Several staffers alleged that the 48-year-old host got annoyed at minor things and even seemed intoxicated at work on several such occasions. Former employees explained that they used to call the dressing rooms "crying rooms" and joked about wanting to "kill themselves" due to the stress and anxiety.
In addition to Jimmy Fallon's behavior, many blamed the constantly changing leadership and added that the work environment did not change despite bringing up the problems with HR.
The news left netizens shocked, to say the least.
"Never saw that coming": Internet users express disappointment at Jimmy Fallon's behavior on the show
As news of Jimmy Fallon's namesake show fostering a toxic environment for its employees spread, Twitterati was quick to express shock and dismay. Many stated that he seemed like a nice person and found it hard to believe that it was all just a facade. Others compared him to Ellen DeGeneres, who faced a similar controversy in 2020.
Just hours after the story broke, Jimmy Fallon apologized to his staff in a Zoom call, stating that he did not intend to create "that type of atmosphere" on the set. The 48-year-old host remarked that he felt bad and embarrassed and addressed the changing leadership by remarking Chris Miller was a "great leader" and would not be changed soon.
According to an article by People, a current employee stated that current employees felt "frustrated by the accusation" laid on the host. Jimmy Fallon has not commented on the controversy.
