For the first post-WGA strike episode of The Tonight Show in five months, host Jimmy Fallon helped turn Matthew McConaughey’s children’s book into a song and caught up with musical guest John Mayer. What he didn’t do is address the Rolling Stone report from last month where he was accused of being “dismissive,” “irritable,” and “erratic” to Tonight Show employees, leading to a “toxic” work environment. At least not directly.
“I missed you, oh my god! Five months off, and we are back! I’m so excited to be here. Seriously, I’m more excited than a guy seeing Beetlejuice with Lauren Boebert,” Fallon joked during the opening monologue. Later, things turned serious. “I had a lot of time, five months, a lot of time to really just sit and think, you know? And I finally just took a moment and realized how grateful I am for all of this and for this show. I really love it,” he said, seemingly addressing the allegations. Fallon continued:
“I really love this job, I love doing it. I love telling jokes, I love interviewing people, I love making you laugh. I’m very lucky to have this show, and I want to thank you all for supporting and choosing to have me in your bedrooms at nighttime. This is what I love to do, and I want to do it for a long time. I’m so happy to be back.”
You can watch the monologue above.