Kathy Griffin claims she’s effectively “banned” from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon because she is seen as “too controversial”.
The comedian said she had not appeared on any of Fallon’s shows since his Late Night days and suggested that NBC no longer wanted her on air.
“I’ve not done the Jimmy Fallon show since it was on at 12.30 eastern and pacific, so I guess I’m banned from the Fallon show, or inappropriate or too controversial. I don’t even know,” Griffin said in an Instagram video posted earlier this week.
“When you’re banned from a show – and if you guys know me, I’m banned from most of them. They don’t usually tell you you’re banned; they just can’t seem to find room for you.”
Fallon hosted Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 until February 2014 in NBC’s 12.35am slot before taking over The Tonight Show. Griffin’s last appearance on The Tonight Show came in 2013, during Jay Leno’s tenure as host. This means she hasn’t appeared on the franchise since Fallon took over.
Griffin said she bore no personal ill will towards Fallon, adding: “I do like Jimmy Fallon. I’ve met him a few times and when I used to do his later show, he was always super nice to me.”
However, she called out the talk show host’s decision to bring on Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, who appeared on Fallon’s show early last month to promote his comeback bout versus Max Holloway at UFC 329.
“I do think it was a bad call for him to have Conor McGregor on,” Griffin said. “I think the Fallon folks made a mistake by having Conor McGregor on. I think it sends yet another message to women and marginalised folks everywhere that we’re not equal and you can do anything to us and the perpetrators are still gonna be out there being glorified.”
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In November 2024, a civil jury in Dublin found McGregor had assaulted a woman who accused him of having “brutally raped and battered” her in a hotel in the city in December 2018. The jury found in the woman’s favour and awarded her €248,603 (£212,559) in damages. It also ordered McGregor to pay about €1.3m (£1.1m) in legal costs.
McGregor continues to deny all allegations against him relating to the case.
The Independent has reached out to representatives for Fallon and McGregor for comment.
Griffin also brought up Fallon’s 2016 interview with Donald Trump during the presidential campaign, when he ruffled Trump’s hair on air in a moment many critics said helped soften the candidate’s public image. “It kind of reminds me of when Fallon had Trump on and then he petted his hair, or as I call it, a bird’s nest,” Griffin said. “That didn’t sit well with me.”
She also called out Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels for letting the US president host the live sketch comedy show at the time. “I think it’s time we kind of make up our minds about who we’re going to cancel and who we’re not. Take it from the most cancelled celebrity in history. Look it up. As the kids say, do better,” she added.
In 2017, Griffin faced backlash after posing in a photoshoot by celebrity photographer Tyler Shields holding a fake bloodied severed head resembling Trump. The image drew condemnation from both Republicans and Democrats, including Trump himself, who said Griffin “should be ashamed of herself”, while his wife Melania Trump called the photo “very disturbing”.
The fallout cost Griffin her role as co-host of CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve broadcast with Anderson Cooper, ended endorsement deals, and prompted an investigation by the US Secret Service.
In a February interview with WUSF Public Media, Griffin said she “didn’t work for seven years” due to the fallout from the controversy.