Jerry Seinfeld denies witnessing Jimmy Fallon 'scold' Tonight Show employee
Jerry Seinfeld has slammed a claim that he witnessed Jimmy Fallon scold one of his employees on The Tonight Show.
In a report published on Rolling Stone on Thursday, two current and 14 former staffers claimed the host's erratic behaviour had fostered a toxic work environment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Within the report, two employees recalled an "uncomfortable" incident in which Fallon allegedly publicly "scolded" a crew member for messing up his cue cards during a segment with the comedian. Seinfeld allegedly told Fallon to apologise and he did.
In a statement to Rolling Stone in response to the report, the Seinfeld actor described the allegation as an "idiotic twisting of events".
"This is so stupid," the 69-year-old said. "I remember this moment quite well... I teased Jimmy about a flub, and we all had a fun laugh about how rarely Jimmy is thrown off. It was not uncomfortable at all. Jimmy and I still occasionally recall it and laugh. Idiotic twisting of events."
In the original story, the anonymous former employee recalled, "It was very awkward, and Jerry was like, 'You should apologize to him,' almost trying to make it a joke. It was one of the strangest moments ever and so many people were there, so it's kind of hard to forget."
Following the report's publication, Fallon and his showrunner Chris Miller appeared on a Zoom call with show staff to apologise.
"It's embarrassing and I feel so bad. Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends... I feel so bad I can't even tell you," he stated. "I never set out to create that type of atmosphere at the show."
Fallon took over as the host of The Tonight Show in 2014.
