Jimmy Fallon might be a cheerful presence on The Tonight Show, but behind the scenes, that’s reportedly not always the case. Rolling Stone interviewed 80 current and former staffers, and apparently, not one had a positive thing to say about working on the show. Employees told the magazine Fallon is prone to erratic behavior and “outbursts.” Eight former employees said Fallon’s demeanor seemed to depend on whether he was hungover. Two employees recalled witnessing Fallon seemingly inebriated at work in 2017, Rolling Stone reports, while another two said they thought they smelled liquor on his breath in 2019 and 2020. And two employees also recalled an occasion in which Fallon scolded a crew member who was holding his cue cards so harshly that Jerry Seinfeld urged him to apologize. “It was one of the strangest moments ever,” one former staffer said, “and so many people were there, so it’s kind of hard to forget.” A representative for NBC told Rolling Stone, in part: “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.”
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