Trump to Fallon: ‘Be a man’
Comedian backs refugee centre in president’s name
It’s been two years since Jimmy Fallon polarized American audiences by lovingly ruffling Donald Trump’s hair on The Tonight Show and “normalizing” the then-presidential candidate, according to critics at the time. Since then, he’s been full of regret.
In a new interview on The Hollywood Reporter’s Award Chatter podcast last week, the entire incident was recounted yet again.
“I did not do it to ‘normalize’ him or to say I believe in his political beliefs or any of that stuff,” Fallon said. “It just got bigger and out of control. I saw other comedians from other shows making fun of me on Twitter and I go, ‘OK, now I’m just gonna get off.’ They know the show. I’m just doing five hours a week. I get in at 10 in the morning, I work ‘till seven at night and I’m just trying to make a funny show. (Addressing them:) ‘You know the grind and you know me. Of all the people in the world, I’m one of the good people — I mean, really. You don’t even know what you’re talking about if you say that I’m evil or whatever.’ But people just jump on the train, and some people don’t even want to hear anything else. They’re like, ‘No, you did that!’ You go, ‘Well, just calm down and just look at the whole thing and actually see my body of work.’ ”
Fallon addressed the ratings hit his show took after the interview in question, and the ceaseless criticism: “It was definitely a down time. And it’s tough for morale. There’s 300 people that work here, and so when people are talking that bad about you and ganging up on you, in a really gang mentality … You go, ‘Alright, we get it. I heard you. You made me feel bad. So now what? Are you happy? I’m depressed. Do you want to push me more? What do you want me to do? You want me to kill myself ? What would make you happy? Get over it.’ I’m sorry. I don’t want to make anyone angry — I never do and I never will. It’s all in the fun of the show. I made a mistake. I’m sorry if I made anyone mad. And, looking back, I would do it differently.”
Trump, naturally, tweeted in response to the interview on Sunday, writing, “@ jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous ‘hair show’ with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have ‘humanized’ me. He is taking heat.”
The president then revealed that Fallon apparently called him after the 2016 interview to rave: “He called & said ‘monster ratings.’ Be a man Jimmy!”
In a rare move for Fallon, the comedian then retaliated, tweeting that he’d be donating to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services in the president’s name.
And the world keeps on turning.