More than two current and 14 former members of The Tonight Show told Rolling Stone that the talk show was a toxic workplace.
According to Rolling Stone: Fallon “snaps at crew members, expresses irritation over the smallest of things, and berates and belittles staffers out of frustration.” Employees described fearing Fallon’s “outbursts” and unpredictable behavior.
The publication also states that the show has a constant turnaround for showrunners, many were “abusive, vindictive, and unable to keep Fallon in line.”
Fallon references the current showrunner ‘Chris Miller’ as “a great leader, one he expects to be around for some time.”
Rolling Stone says the publication contacted more than 80 current and former employees of Fallon, and none agreed to go on the record about their experiences or had positive words for Fallon.
“Mentally, I was in the lowest place of my life. I didn’t want to live anymore. I thought about taking my own life all the time,” one ex-employee says. “I knew deep down I would never actually do it, but in my head, I’m like, ‘Why do I think about this all the time?’”
Complaints were made to HR, but problems still continued.
NBC Statement: The spokesperson didn’t mention Jimmy Fallon by name, it did claim that the issues brought up by these employees “have been investigated and action has been taken where appropriate,” and that they “: encourage employees who feel they have experienced or observed behavior inconsistent with our policies to report their concerns so that we may address them accordingly.”
Fallon took over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2014. Prior to that, Fallon hosted Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009-14 and appeared on Saturday Night Live from 1998-2004. — People
Source: CBS, People, Rolling Stone, Variety