It seems like Jimmy Fallon learned the wrong lesson from the Stephen Colbert fiasco.
The “SNL” alum is facing backlash after interviewing comedian Greg Gutfeld ― the host of Fox News’ “Gutfeld!” ― on the “Tonight Show” Friday.
Although Fallon’s interview with Gutfeld did not veer too much into politics, it was extremely friendly, with the two revealing that they had a wild night out drinking 15 years ago.
Greg Gutfeld as a guest on the “Tonight Show.” NBC via Getty Images
When Fallon asked Gutfeld about his “show,” Fallon neglected to mention it was on Fox News, and how Gutfeld delights in spreading his bigoted views on the network by sharing them as more palpable “jokes.”
Last month, for instance, Gutfeld said that conservatives should embrace being called “Nazi” like “the Blacks” have reclaimed the N-word.
“We need to learn from the Blacks, the way they were able to remove the power from the N-word by using it,” Gutfeld said on Fox News’ “The Five.” “So, from now on, it’s, ‘What up, my Nazi? Hey, what up, my Nazi? Hey, what’s hanging, my Nazi?’”
Gutfeld was actually the one to mention that his show was on Fox News. He explained that after being fired numerous times from various outlets, Fox News offered him a job, which he took because he was “broke” and would do “anything’’ for money. He also mentioned that everyone on Fox News was “drunk” during the rehearsal for his first show, and that Fox viewers really enjoy that its female pundits wear short skirts.
After Gutfeld’s appearance on the “Tonight Show,” some social media users were outraged that Fallon gave him a platform on such an iconic late night talk show, with one X user calling it “a pathetic example of desperate groveling to the MAGA media machine.”
“Fallon has always been a ‘yes to everyone’ man. The guy’s got almost zero convictions,” one Reddit user said.
“I’ve never liked Fallon. At all. I like him less now,” a Reddit user said in the same thread.
“Jimmy’s afraid of getting cancelled too. More kissing the ring,” another Reddit echoed.
The idea that late night talk show hosts now have to bend to President Donald Trump is likely a result of CBS announcing last month that it was canceling “The Late Show” and the decades-long “Late Show” franchise.
The announcement that Colbert was getting the axe came shortly — and suspiciously — after CBS’ parent company Paramount settled a lawsuit with Trump over his claim that CBS News’ “60 Minutes” selectively edited an interview with 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the lead-up to the election.
Trump has since warned that other late night hosts, like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, are “next.”
This is also, by no means, the first time Fallon has received backlash.
Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and host Jimmy Fallon on the “Tonight Show” in 2016. NBC via Getty Images
In 2023, he received criticism after former and current staffers at the “Tonight Show” told Rolling Stone that Fallon has shown up drunk to work, and is sometimes so dismissive and mean to his employees that some have even contemplated suicide.
Fallon also sparked controversy when he hosted then-Republican candidate Donald Trump on the “Tonight Show” during the 2016 presidential race.
At the time, people who opposed Trump were disgusted by Fallon’s playful interview with him in which he ruffled Trump’s hair as the soon-to-be president bragged about his health and rising poll numbers, and bashed the media.
