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According to Jerry Seinfeld, Rolling Stone’s recent revelation about Jimmy Fallon contains an “idiotic twist of events.” The magazine published a report on Sept. 7 in which several former “Tonight Show” employees claimed the series had a toxic work environment, which included alleged outbursts from Fallon himself. Two employees said they saw Fallon swearing at a crew member who was holding cue cards during a taping of the show with Seinfeld as a guest.
Per Rolling Stone: “They say it was an awkward moment. Seinfeld asked Fallon to apologize to the Cue Card production member, which he reportedly did. Staff say this incident, which was unpleasant to watch, did not make it into the televised version of the show.”
“It was very embarrassing, and Jerry [Seinfeld] said, ‘You should apologize to him,’ and almost tried to make a joke out of it,” one of the former employees said. “It was one of the strangest moments ever and there were so many people there that it’s hard to forget.”
Seinfeld said in a statement obtained by Variety that the incident was not unpleasant.
“This is so stupid,” Seinfeld said. “I still remember that moment… I was teasing Jimmy about a mistake and we were all laughing about how rarely Jimmy gets thrown off. It wasn’t uncomfortable at all. Jimmy and I still remember it occasionally and laugh. Idiotic distortion of events.”
Hours after the Rolling Stone report was published, Fallon apologized to The Tonight Show staff.
“It’s embarrassing and I feel so bad. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends,” Fallon said during a Zoom meeting with “Tonight” staff. “I feel so bad I can’t even tell you.” He told the gathering during the meeting, which was meant to be brief: “I want this show to be fun, it should be inclusive for everyone, it should be funny, it should be the best show, the best people.”
Fallon’s “Tonight Show” is currently on hiatus due to strikes by the writers and actors unions WGA and SAG-AFTRA.