NEW YOR CITY, NEW YORK: Jimmy Fallon returned to 'The Tonight Show' on Monday, October 2 after a five-month-long hiatus. It was the first episode of the show since the WGA strikes began in early May.
Apparently, on the first day of the strike, one of his employees openly accused Fallon of ghostwriting his own writers at a late-night work stoppage meeting.
Since then, the Rolling Stone article on his supposedly "toxic" backstage behavior, including tantrums driven on by hangovers and contemptuous behavior that left writers in tears, has surfaced.
As per sources, Fallon apologized to his team in private and to his staff members in a Zoom call on September 7 after the extensive Rolling Stone expose on the working culture of the talk show.
However, the talk show host did not address the allegations of his "toxic" backstage behavior on 'The Tonight Show', drawing criticism from the viewers.
Jimmy Fallon doesn't address allegations after his return to 'The Tonight Show'
When Jimmy Fallon finally made it back onto 'The Tonight Show' stage on Monday night, he chose not to address the accusations against him publicly.
Instead, he made jokes about Rep Lauren Boebert and 'The Golden Bachelor' and sang a song playing an ukulele about all that he had missed over the summer.
He didn't appear to make any reference to the turmoil that filled the news stories about him until after his opening monologue.
"I missed you, oh my god!" said the host during his opening monologue, adding, "Five months off, and we are back! I’m so excited to be here. Seriously, I’m more excited than a guy seeing Beetlejuice with Lauren Boebert."
Fallon continued, "I just want to say, I’m so happy all the writers got their fair deal that they deserved," along with, "You’ve gotta hand it to them: the only writers who spent all summer trying to go back to the office."
Toward the end, he sang a song about every story that the show had missed in the almost five months that it had been off the air, claiming that it would be "a brand new one" and telling the audience that he was "very grateful to have this show."
Internet blasts Jimmy Fallon for not acknowledging allegations of toxic work environment
Jimmy Fallon was chastised for failing to address reports of "toxic" backstage behavior on 'The Tonight Show' following the WGA strike.
One wrote, "He believes he can’t be cancelled."
"You better stick to comedy and not politics," stated another.
A Facebook user commented, "I hope he listens to those reports and makes changes for the better," with one suggesting, "Learn to be nicer to your staff."
A 'The Tonight Show' fan who seems happy about Fallon's return to the stage said, "I’m glad you’re back, but also treat your employees better."
What were the allegations against Jimmy Fallon?
Jimmy Fallon has been accused of creating a hostile work environment for the employees of 'The Tonight Show'. As per numerous accounts, he had a history of having "outbursts" and yelling at staff members when in stress.
Former top staff members of the program were charged with bullying and demeaning staff members. The dressing rooms for visitors were referred to as "cry rooms" since they were a place where staff members could vent their stress.
Some employees even had to leave their jobs due to mental health issues, as per Insider.
When were the allegations against Jimmy Fallon made?
In a Rolling Stone piece released on September 7, 16 current and former staffers of 'The Tonight Show' reportedly detailed a demanding workplace that was bad for their mental health.
The people were not mentioned by name in the story due to their concern of negative professional consequences.
After the expose was published, Fallon reportedly apologized to his coworkers over claims of a challenging work environment and claimed he did not mean to "create that type of atmosphere for the show" during a Zoom call with 'The Tonight Show' team.
