Jerry Seinfeld Defends Jimmy Fallon After Exposé on 'Toxic' Workplace

On Thursday, Rolling Stone published detailed accounts from over a dozen current and former staffers of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, claiming the host cultivated a toxic work environment. One of the more colorful anecdotes involved comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who is now claiming that the incident was blown out of proportion.

In the piece, one former employee had recalled an occurrence in which Fallon had allegedly berated a cue-card production member while Seinfeld was guest on the late night show, which is currently on hiatus due to the writer's strike.

"It was very awkward, and Jerry [Seinfeld] was like, 'You should apologize to him,' almost trying to make it a joke," the former employee claimed. "It was one of the strangest moments ever and so many people were there, so it’s kind of hard to forget."

After the piece went live, the internet fixated on that detail, in particular, and it wasn't long before Seinfeld began trending on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Which is perhaps why Seinfeld, who declined to comment on the story before it published, subsequently issued a statement to Rolling Stone.

"This is so stupid. I remember this moment quite well," Seinfeld told the publication. "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."

Among the other allegations made in the piece were that there were "good Jimmy days" and "bad Jimmy days," which were suggested to be a result of the host's alcohol use, and that there were areas where the staff designated crying rooms for when the abuse became too much to tolerate. Others claimed that Fallon's feedback wasn't so much constructive criticism as it was personal insults, with feedback notes that included barbs such as "Are you OK? Seriously, do you need help?" and "Ugh, lame."

After the piece published, NBC issued a statement seemingly defending show while supporting any employees who experienced or who are experiencing issues.

"We are incredibly proud of The Tonight Show, and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority," the net work stated. "As in any workplace, we have had employees raise issues; those have been investigated and action has been taken where appropriate. As is always the case, we encourage employees who feel they have experienced or observed behavior inconsistent with our policies to report their concerns so that we may address them accordingly."