Jimmy Fallon was slammed online for saying his current gameplan to hosting The Tonight Show – amid an increasingly-divisive political landscape in the U.S. – was to ‘hit both sides equally.’
The Tonight Show host, 51, appeared Tuesday on the CNBC program Squawk on the Street, where said that he wasn’t looking to make things political at a time two of his late night rivals have been involved in politically-fueled controversies.
In July, Stephen Colbert was fired from his CBS show this past summer with many saying his political views led to his pink slip.
President Donald Trump tweeted at the time: ‘The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, Fallon will be gone.’
Earlier this month, ABC late night host Kimmel was suspended about a remark he made linked to the Republican reaction to the tragic killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Fallon on Tuesday said politics has never been the thrust of his program, and he doesn’t intend to make it that anytime soon.
Jimmy Fallon was slammed online for saying his current gameplan to hosting The Tonight Show – amid an increasingly-divisive political landscape in the U.S. – was to ‘hit both sides equally’
The Tonight Show host, 51, appeared Tuesday on the CNBC program Squawk on the StreetÂ
Fallon said that his incarnation of the Tonight Show ‘has never really been political,’ some nine years after he was slammed for taking a lighthearted approach to an interview with President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign.
Fallon, who took over hosting duties from Jay Leno in 2014, said that he and his writers seek to ‘hit both sides equally’ and ‘make everybody laugh and that’s really the way our show works.’
Fallon name-checked legendary late Tonight Show host Johnny Carson for his famously nonpartisan approach to monologues.
‘Our monologues are kind of the same that we’ve been doing since Johnny Carson was hosting The Tonight Show,’ Fallon said. ‘So really, I just keep my head down and make sure the jokes are funny.’
Fallon praised his crew of scribes and said they would continue working hard to try and put out the best possible product.
‘I have great writers,’ Fallon said. ‘And we’re just trying to make the best show we possibly can and entertain everybody.’
Fallon’s measured approach garnered an overwhelmingly frustrated response on social media.
Said one user: ‘Nope, Jimmy, “bothsidesing” is NOT good comedy. It’s weakness. It’s neutral. It’s meh. It’s change the channel.’
Fallon was slammed for taking a lighthearted approach to an interview with President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign
President Donald Trump tweeted in July that ‘Fallon will be gone’ from ‘the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes’ after Stephen Colbert’s show was droppedÂ
Fallon’s measured approach garnered an overwhelmingly frustrated response on social mediaÂ
Said another user, ‘On the long list of reasons Fallon rightfully gets no love is he has no spine and refuses to read the room.’
One user said Fallon sounded ‘cowardly’ in plotting out his strategy, while another said Fallon’s ‘public persona is a complete and total void.
The user said the late night host’s ‘utter failure to meet this cultural moment comedically is pretty staggering.’
One user joked, referencing the other late night hosts, ‘How much you guys wanna bet that Colbert, Kimmel, Meyers, Stewart, and Oliver have a secret group chat without him in it?’Â
Some people came to his defense for staying on the fence amid the turbulent times.
‘Why are people calling him a coward for not alienating half his audience?’ one user said.
Another said of Fallon: ‘Politics have never been his thing. You can tell he gets uncomfortable talking about it on his show.’
The Tonight Show airs weeknights on NBC at 11:35/10:35c.
