Jimmy Fallon’s Professional Highs and Lows Over the Years: A Revisit

As a man of humor, it is tough to envision Jimmy Fallon in a shady situation. The comedian and talk show host has had an extensive career mired with some controversies. However, he managed to ditch those with his comic disposition and sincere apologies. So, today, let’s look at some of the situations that have landed him in hot water over the years.

Jimmy Fallon’s Highs

The 48-year-old’s career began with Saturday Night Live . He earned a good reputation for himself, but when he landed his own late-night show titled Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in 2009 was when things really started looking up for Fallon. His own show? Definitely a game-changer.

While Fallon joined SNL in 1998, besides Tina Fey, he stayed until 2004, at which point he left to pursue an acting career and starred in several flicks like Taxi (2004) and Fever Pitch (2005). In 2007, he married his wife, Nancy Juvonen, and welcomed two daughters. His career boomed as he succeeded Jay Leno and became the sixth permanent host of The Tonight Show. In fact, the show even went on to get two Emmy nominations and made him a household name.

The Lows

Fallon faced criticism for poorly handling his interview with Donald Trump in 2016. Viewers alleged the talk show host goofed up, and instead of posing crucial questions regarding the elections, he “entertained” the Republican candidate. In an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s ‘Award Chatter’ podcast in 2018, he recalled, “It was definitely a downtime.” Fallon continued, “And it’s tough for morale. There are 300 people that work here, and so when people are talking that bad about you and gaming up on you, in a really gang mentality … You go, ‘Alright, we get it.”

In 2017, the host’s alleged drinking problem worried NBC executives because it was ‘spiraling out of control.’ However, he denied it. “I could never do a day-to-day job if I was drinking every night.” The talk show host further added, “That’s just kicking you when you’re down.”

2020 brought another controversy for Fallon. An older SNL skit resurfaced on the internet wherein he had donned blackface; for obvious reasons, it did not age well. He apologized for it with a tweet, “In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this.”

In 2023, Fallon, once again, came under fire for his ‘erratic’ behavior on set, with his employees claiming he was renowned for having ‘outbursts.’ Some said Fallon was a ‘nightmare’ at the workplace. The ‘veracity’ of such allegations was further strengthened by 16 anonymous past and present employees who spoke to the Rolling Stone . One former employee told the outlet, “It’s a bummer because it was my dream job.” Another staff member said, “Writing for late night [television] is a lot of people’s dream jobs, and they’re coming into this, and it becomes a nightmare very quickly.”

NBC released a statement in response to this story: “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.” Soon after the article was published, Fallon released an apology via Zoom. “Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends,” he said.