Jimmy Fallon, 49, made a very welcome return to late night television with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, October 2nd after a five-month-long hiatus due to the writers’ strike – and the comedian and talk show host made it very clear that he was so “excited” and “grateful” to be back on our screens!
Fallon seemed visibly emotional on his first show back, as it also marked the first show since Rolling Stone published an exposé which saw anonymous past and present staff members accuse him of “erratic behaviour” and fostering a “toxic” work environment at the show. We previously wrote that Fallon addressed the allegations in a Zoom meeting with staff shortly after the exposé was published, saying he didn’t intend to “create that type of atmosphere for the show.”
Jimmy Fallon Says He's 'Excited' To Be Back In His Opening Monologue
Fallon's opening monologue didn’t actually address the workplace scandal, and started off light-hearted and humorous, as expected. "Five months off and we are back. I am so excited to be here," he began. "I am more excited than a guy seeing Beetlejuice with Lauren Boebert. More excited than a Jets fan during the first three plays of the season. Even my dad called and said he’s so excited to watch Kimmel," he continued, before addressing the writers' strike.
"Glad the writers got the fair deal that they deserve," he continued, adding: "You’ve got to hand it to them: Only writers would spend all summer trying to get back to the office. It took five months to reach the deal. The stalemate finally ended when the studios realized we got to end this now or it’s another three months of watching Suits."
Jimmy Fallon Gets Emotional And Tells Viewers: 'I'm Very Lucky To Have This Show'
However, a little further on in the show when he was sitting behind his desk, Fallon seemed visibly overcome with emotion when talking about how much the show meant to him. Although he didn’t mention the workplace scandal directly, it seems pretty obvious that the allegations that were made against him were part of the reason for his emotion.
Jimmy reflects on the return of The Tonight Show after a five-month-long hiatus. #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/wb1Oht0vI8
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) October 3, 2023
"I had a lot of time, five months, a lot of time to really just sit and think. And I finally just took a moment and realized how grateful I am for all of this and for this show," Fallon began. "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," he continued, adding, "This is what I love to do, and I want to do it for a long time. I’m so happy to be back."
