Sixteen staffers for NBC’s The Tonight Show — two of whom still work for the show plus 14 former employees — claim the Jimmy Fallon-hosted show has had a toxic environment for years, according to a new report.
The employees — who served in positions ranging from writers to production crew members and said they fruitlessly informed human resources about the problem — cited the “pretty glum atmosphere” while contending they were subject to belittling and intimidation by their superiors, including Fallon, whom they said had periodic “outbursts” amid erratic behavior, according to Rolling Stone.
“It’s a bummer because it was my dream job,” a former staffer told Rolling Stone. “Writing for late night is a lot of people’s dream jobs, and they’re coming into this and it becomes a nightmare very quickly. It’s sad that it’s like that, especially knowing that it doesn’t have to be that way.”
The outlet interviewed over 80 past and present employees for the show. “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,'” Rolling Stone reported.
The show has had a revolving door for showrunners, with nine different people in nine years. “Nobody told Jimmy, ‘No,’” a former staffer claimed. “Everybody walked on eggshells, especially showrunners. You never knew which Jimmy we were going to get and when he was going to throw a hissy fit. Look how many showrunners went so quickly. We know they didn’t last long.”
“It was like, if Jimmy is in a bad mood, everyone’s day is f***ed,” another former employee added. “People wouldn’t joke around in the office, and they wouldn’t stand around and talk to each other. It was very much like, focus on whatever it is that you have to do because Jimmy’s in a bad mood, and if he sees that, he might fly off.”
Seven former staffers said it was typical of the atmosphere on the show for people to joke about “wanting to kill themselves.”
“The producers felt this pressure, and that translated down to all of their employees. People that worked under them then felt this pressure that if you made one mistake, you were gone and would be easily replaced,” a former staffer recalled.
“I love ‘The Tonight Show,’ and I love comedy,” a former staffer concluded. “I gave my heart and soul to that place. I want to see them succeed and do well, but for that to happen, there are major changes that need to take place, starting with Jimmy. They all need to dig their heads out of the sand and do something about the very obvious problems that we all know are happening.”
Fallon has hosted ‘The Tonight Show,’ the world’s longest running talk show, since 2014. Prior to his tenure as host, the show was hosted by Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010–2014), and Conan O’Brien (2009–2010).