Inside Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show: 16 Staffers Allege Erratic Behavior – Rolling Stone

[Steve Timko]

Sixteen current and former staffers say Fallon’s erratic behavior spoiled their “dream” of working on The Tonight Show

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/jimmy-fallon-tonight-show-toxic-work-environment-crying-rooms-nbc-1234819421/ 

[David Bruggeman]

A side note to the entire series of allegations.

It's noted in the piece that there was an audience in for the rehearsal.  Is this typical?  My sense is this is unusual, but I have no idea.

David

[Kevin M.]

Sometimes, the studio tours in 30 Rock are permitted to hang out in studios during rehearsals of some NBC shows. It NEVER happened in Burbank. 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/346667732.3491384.1694119847922%40mail.yahoo.com.

[PGage]

I think my disdain for Fallon and his talk show persona are well established. I rarely find him funny, often find him annoying. If he has engaged in harmful behavior, he should be held to account, and if he has a drinking problem, as this article implies, he should get help, and not be allowed to inflict pain on others while drunk or hung over.

But…that is not the issue here. I think the issue is that the writers of this article do not have it, in the words of old school WaPo Editor Ben Bradlee. They wrote a very long piece that repeatedly says Fallon was erratic, that cites multiple anonymous staffers blaming their serious MH issues on Fallon’s behavior, and, Trump like, state several times that “people are saying he has an alcohol problem.” All of these things may be true, but there is no way to tell that from reading this article and it ought not to have been published in its current form.  

Sent from Gmail Mobile

On Thu, 7 Sep 2023 at 1:22 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

Sixteen current and former staffers say Fallon’s erratic behavior spoiled their “dream” of working on The Tonight Show

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/jimmy-fallon-tonight-show-toxic-work-environment-crying-rooms-nbc-1234819421/ 

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAH5J8yweMDes18ozmgf4400L3jCoACE5%3D70WhMP7tGs6XL1-Mw%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Bruggeman]

I'm inclined to agree with the lack of there there.  That's not to dismiss anybody's claims or experiences, but the story's not fully formed or sufficiently developed in its case for the Tonight Show environment being something at the level of Ellen's show, or even the early Leno years.

Someone can probably find the specifics in our list archives, but this would not be the first time there have been concerns expressed about Fallon and alcohol.  When he had that gruesome hand injury back in 2015, followed by another hand injury that same year, I recall speculation about Fallon and drinking, especially since he was holding a bottle of Jagermeister at the time of the second incident.  I was surprised to not see any mention of this in the article.  I don't think it necessarily tips the scales, but it would seem relevant to any discussion about Fallon having issues with alcohol.

David

[JW]

> I think the issue is that the writers of this article do not have it, in

> the words of old school WaPo Editor Ben Bradlee.

They have it.

"Rolling Stone contacted more than 50 Tonight Show employees, past and present, during the reporting for this story. After reaching out to representatives for Fallon and NBC, Rolling Stone reached out to an additional 30 current and former staffers. While many of them praised Fallon’s immense talent and comedic gifts, not a single one agreed to speak on the record or had  positive things to say about working on The Tonight Show. 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."

If NOBODY is willing to defend Fallon, be they from the show, the production company, or network, there's a problem.

[PGage]

How is that a news story? What they have is 30 anonymous workers saying they think their boss is a jerk.

The implied news story is that he is an alcoholic who is often drunk or hung over at work, and so toxic he drove some to suicidal ideation and panic attacks. But they don’t over any specific allegation about behavior that would come close to justifying these claims, except stating that some reported they “think” they smelled alcohol on him in an elevator. That “think” is the kind of weasel word articles use when they don’t have the actual goods.

Sent from Gmail Mobile

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKSNnOG2CzZ0xXpORQER2gPPrOzwdf2jVCJKJ3DQbgJ2n8qTcQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Mark Jeffries]

The thing is, though, the fact that Fallon has had nine showrunners in nine years.  Carson only had three for 30 years--and Freddie DeCordova did it for 20 years.  Dave had three in 35 years, not counting Merrill Markoe.  Colbert has only had four in eight years, counting himself  in the beginning.  If there's that much turnover--and if it's reflecting in other staff positions--there's gotta be a problem.

Mark Jeffries
spotl...@gmail.com

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKxucUuGjDZp_Dy3JoUXwmSfc7f%3DaVP5x2Ca13%3DHzcSyw%40mail.gmail.com.

[M-D November]

Not for nothing, but you never hear ANYTHING like this about Craig Ferguson. Just sayin'. :)

[PGage]

I am going to take another run at this - it may be that people disagree with me, which I am used to, but it may be I have not expressed myself clearly.

If the story is: “Fallon seems like a nice guy on TV, but in reality he is a mean jerk”, then yes, they do have that story. I am not against anonymous sources (if the reporter and outlet are credible), and the story cites many current and former employees agreeing that Fallon has been a jerk, or that working for him was not as fun as they had imagined it would be.

However, that is not really the story the article is selling. The actual story is: “Fallon is an alcoholic who is often either drunk or hungover at work, making him a toxic (not just mean) employer.” While this is the story they are really telling (its the only story that justifies a long expose, and the splash they obviously expected to cause) this is the story that they do not have. 

They do not have any source that establishes that he was drunk or hungover at work, just suspicions. They imply he is frequently affected by alcohol at work, but don’t specifically state how often he is impaired. They cite sources who claim extremely serious harm caused by Fallon (that he is responsible for suicidal ideation or intention, that he caused panic attacks, that he inflicted harm that required formal psychiatric treatment) but again do not describe anything that would remotely be likely to cause such effects (I can state pretty categorically that people do not literally want to kill themselves because their boss wrote snide or sarcastic comments in the margins of some written product they submitted).

If the story they wanted to tell was just that the real Fallon is a jerk, unlike his persona, then a competent editor should have red pencilled all the innuendo and suggestion about his being a toxic alcoholic. If they wanted to tell the toxic alcoholic story, then they should have held it until they had adequate support.

Sent from Gmail Mobile

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJ_uKi-KS%2Bn77uy98c2AOb8Jvi6eczb9%2Bva34zPvZu5bCRGqkQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Kevin M.]

You expressed yourself quite clearly, and I agree the article is crap. It doesn’t tell the whole story; I don’t even think the writers know the whole story. Part of me wants to believe the intent is to get someone to go on the record, but with broadcast TV dying, and the strike putting the job of everyone in the industry in jeopardy, people are going to be reluctant to talk. When Fallon’s reign of banality comes to an end, I doubt there will be a replacement; whatever remains of the Tonight Show will likely end with him. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYLUa-ia06-C2pYvK7xHOrLujNC1-ooC1TEwCWz9FJ%2BqNA%40mail.gmail.com.

[JW]

> However, that is not really the story the article is selling. The actual
> story is: “Fallon is an alcoholic who is often either drunk or hungover at

> work, making him a toxic (not just mean) employer.”

FWIW, that's not what I got from the story. There was “Fallon seems like a nice guy on TV, but in reality he is a mean jerk,” some suggestions that alcohol may sometimes have been involved, the revolving door of showrunners whom nobody seems to miss, and the remarkable unwillingness of anybody, even the network PR department, to say "Those were just some disgruntled employees; most people who work on the Tonight Show are gruntled."