Jimmy Fallon has been accused of fostering a toxic workplace environment on The Tonight Show.

In a report published by Rolling Stone on Thursday, 16 former and current staff members have claimed that the 48-year-old’s behaviour spoiled their “dream” of working on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The 14 former and two current employees, all of whom remained anonymous, claimed that The Tonight Show has been a “toxic workplace for years – far outside the boundaries of what’s considered normal in the high-pressure world of late-night TV”.

The former employees alleged that the atmosphere behind the scenes of the show is “pretty glum” and that they were “belittled and intimidated by their bosses, including Fallon himself”.

The staff members opened up about the host’s alleged “outbursts” and claimed that they had taken the issue to HR, though nothing changed.

“Writing for late night is a lot of people’s dream jobs, and they’re coming into this and it becomes a nightmare very quickly. It’s sad that it’s like that, especially knowing that it doesn’t have to be that way,” a staffer told the publication.

One former colleague told the outlet that employees of the show are afraid to tell the host “No”.

“Nobody told Jimmy, ‘No.’ Everybody walked on eggshells, especially showrunners,” they said. “You never knew which Jimmy we were going to get and when he was going to throw a hissy fit. Look how many showrunners went so quickly. We know they didn’t last long.”

Seven former staffers claimed that their mental health was impacted by their alleged experiences on the show and three alleged that they had experienced suicidal thoughts while working on the series.

“Mentally, I was in the lowest place of my life. I didn’t want to live anymore. I thought about taking my own life all the time. I knew deep down I would never actually do it, but in my head, I’m like, ‘Why do I think about this all the time?'” a staffer said.

Additionally, two employees alleged that they saw Fallon drunk at work in 2017. Another two staffers claimed that they thought they smelled alcohol on the host’s breath during the work day.

Fallon, who is a former Saturday Night Live star, took over as host of The Tonight Show in 2014.

– Cover Media