While late-night host Jimmy Fallon has been off-air amid Hollywood’s actors and writers strikes, his staff are speaking out about the allegedly toxic workplace culture behind ”The Tonight Show.”
In a Rolling Stone investigation published Thursday, two current and 14 former employees of the NBC talk show alleged that their experiences working on the show included declining mental health, intimidation from higher-ups, including the 48-year-old Fallon, and poor treatment due to Fallon’s erratic behavior.
These people, whose jobs ranged from production crew to office staffers and writers, all requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Of the more than 80 “Tonight Show” employees, past and present who were contacted, no one who spoke with Rolling Stone senior entertainment reporter Krystie Lee Yandoli “agreed to speak on the record or had positive things to say about working on ‘The Tonight Show.’”
Still, “many of them praised Fallon’s immense talent and comedic gifts.”
“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,” according to the article.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, an NBC spokesperson said: “We are incredibly proud of ’The Tonight Show,’ and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority.
The spokesperson added, “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.”
USA TODAY has reached out to a representative for the show for comment.
According to Rolling Stone, Fallon and his showrunner Chris Miller addressed the outlet’s reporting in a virtual meeting on Thursday, with Fallon apologizing and explaining that he didn’t intend to create an unhealthy atmosphere.
‘Tonight Show’ leadership has had high turnover rates over 9 years
The former “Saturday Night Live” star started hosting “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” on NBC in 2009 and has since become one of TV’s most beloved late-night personalities. In 2014, he took over Jay Leno’s hosting duties on “The Tonight Show.”
And in the nine years “The Tonight Show” has been on air, there have been six different leadership teams and nine showrunners, according to Rolling Stone. This has allegedly caused some staffers to lose faith in the show’s leaders; several also alleged mistreatment by some showrunners, including bullying and racist microaggressions.
Several former employees who voluntarily left “The Tonight Show” told Rolling Stone they reported their experiences to human resources staff in exit interviews; some others expressed distrust with HR employees.
“The Tonight Show” has not been on air since May, when the Writers Guild of America strike began, but the show would have been on a summer break until September anyway.
To tide fans over during the strikes, Fallon joined fellow late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver, in launching the Strike Force Five podcast last week. All proceeds from the episodes “will go to out-of-work staff from the hosts’ respective shows,” they said.
