259: In the Hot Seat: Analyzing Fallon and NBC's Reactions to Damaging Exposé

This week , on the podcast , pulling back the curtain and peering behind it to sift through the wreckage from the recent Rolling Stone expose about the Tonight Show , its host , showrunners and staff , let's discuss what Jimmy Fallon and NBC had to say about this PR wrinkle . Come take a seat on the couch .

In the whirlwind that is the entertainment industry , where rumors and innuendos and allegations are constantly swirling , it becomes paramount for media organization and celebrities to foster environments and brands that are grounded in respect and safety and inclusivity .

Recently , another talk show became the epicenter of a storm following a scathing expose on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon by Rolling Stone . It was yet another moment that put the spotlight on a talk show and the host .

The revelations from the Rolling Stone article written by Christy Leigh Yandoli paints a disturbing portrait of the work environment at the Tonight Show , where toxicity not just festered but became ingrained in its culture .

Numerous past and present employees echoed an unsettling chorus of distress and stress , and speaking of a work environment that was marred by bullying and intimidation .

There seemed to be a persistent lack of empathy and understanding from the higher ups , the showrunners and including Fallon himself , in the face of these serious allegations , such as employees experiencing suicidal ideation due to the work conditions and the use of guest dressing rooms as crying rooms .

That was a poll quote that almost everyone saw when they read this article . The responses that followed from NBC and Fallon seemed disconnected from the gravity of the issues that were raised in the article . Let's look at the damage Now .

When an expose is rolled out and find its way all through social media , it shakes the foundation of whatever the subject matter is in that article . And in the case of a talk show host , it's not only going to be the head of the show , the face of the show , it's also going to be the inner workings and the network itself .

So it casts a long shadow over the legacy of the face of the show , in this case Jimmy Fallon . But also these types of exposés serve as a harsh reminder that the people who we invite into our homes via television screens or our phones or iPads are not always as they appear on television .

We have witnessed this before , when Ellen DeGeneres went through it when James Corden went through it . It starts as rumors and whisperings . It used to be confined to blind gossip columns , but now it becomes part of the conversation on social media . And then these harsh conversations become much louder .

When other people pick up on the conversations and then create content around these conversations , the press can't help but pick it up . And then the alleged misconduct , all the anecdotes , the unflattering experiences dealing with these people and just the exposure of bad behavior . It comes all out and everybody sees it .

The risk is profound when this happens because when a celebrity who is considered by many people to be a fun , affable daily companion and a source of joy , when they're unmasked as someone who's strikingly different behind the scenes , it creates the crumbling of a carefully constructed brand .

In the case of television shows , the viewer trusts erodes , reputations are shattered and then the cloud of skepticism begins to hover not only on the person but on the industry at large . It calls into question the authenticity of media personalities and even the people who they interview . What is happening behind the scenes ?

Audiences do grapple with this disconnect when the person who they look up to , when the person who gives them joy and makes them happy , whether they watch them on television or by their albums , lizzo . When there is a gap between the on-screen or on-stage persona compared to the real individual behind the person , it can create a lot of problems .

It not only tarnishes that career , but it also brings in this cynicism and this disillusionment among fans , whether they're viewers or listeners . It's going to impact the music industry , like in the case of Lizzo , and the television industry in the case of all these talk show hosts .

It is a stark reminder that ethical boundaries and creating a respectful workplace environment is important to a lot of people and it doesn't matter if you're a television network or if you're a store that sells televisions . Are there TV stores anymore ? I guess we could call that best buy .

But when you don't have that type of a workplace and it's toxic those types of stories tend to leak out . In addition to the trust being lost and the affection from the audience , you are also creating a trust problem . When you've lost the trust , you've lost everything . Now let's do a little analysis on the response .

First , let's look at NBC's statement on Jimmy Fallon . It was a statement that you've seen a million times before . It is a cut and paste mad libs type of a statement . There's just blanks there that you fill in . When I read it , I don't even think you need to be trained in this .

You just need to pay attention and you can see that this statement I'll call it a Pablam statement it's just nothing . There's some filling to it because they said something , but it's Pablam Quote . We are incredibly proud of the Tonight Show and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority .

Nbc's statement read as in any workplace , we have had employee 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 .

I mean , are you listening to that ? Are you listening ? I don't know how many times I've written the word priority , top priority . I talked about safety being a top priority when I was working at the cruise lines , at the head of communications . Safety was a priority at FEMA .

For a lot of my clients , safety is always a top priority , so this one is no different . But this NBC statement is just generic . It's lacking any depth . It's lacking any engagements about the concerns that were brought to light . There were a lot of serious issues in this article .

The reporter interviewed 80 people , 80 current and former employees at the Tonight Show no-transcript .

That number is significant but , however , as they expanded in that statement , sources at NBC emphasized that the majority of employees at the Tonight Show are content with their day-to-day roles and that the Rolling Stone article , which interviewed two current and 14 former employees , represents the perspectives of less than 1% of late night programs nearly 300 current

staffers . So they got that number wrong . But whenever there is a statement that is breaking down a number like that , that is an exercise in framing and framing away likely from truth . Nbc knows that there is a problem there , there's a toxicity problem there . But whenever we see those numbers now you can get those qualifying types of ratios for good .

For instance , if you work in emergency management or if you're in any type of situation where you are helping people or you are part of a big news story , that's an emergency , like a disaster . So if you are explaining , for instance , we're looking for this lost boat and the search area is the size of Connecticut .

Or in a lot of the stories about the Titanic remember the Titanic sub oh my gosh , that seems like a lifetime ago oh my goodness , but that was June , because I remember where I was when that happened they would show the size of it . So when you talk about it to help paint a picture for a person to understand the story better , it's the same device .

But when you see it in a statement that is a response statement to a crisis , it is the device that is used to diminish or minimize the charges , which is exactly what this NBC statement is doing , because that argument brushes over the fact that any instance of toxicity , regardless of how many people report it , warrants serious attention and it can't be shrugged

off , even if it was one person . Imagine a story where one person came out , put their name behind it and talked about that environment , how awful it was . That story would be just as powerful and just as damaging if you had 80 anonymous people behind it . So that type of argument fails to capture the essence of a positive and nurturing work environment .

It's just one that goes beyond the satisfaction we're talking about empathy here and that we're inclusive and we're growing , but in the most bare bones , basic way , the statement doesn't cut it at all . But I think there's a reason behind that . More on that later . So let's look at the Jimmy Fallon Apology Now .

The day after this story in Rolling Stone was published , it was reported that Jimmy Fallon got on a Zoom call with his staff . As the man at the helm of the show , he found himself at the center of these allegations and so he felt that he needed to apologize to his staff .

We don't know if it was his idea someone at the network but he needed to go to the source of the pain , which was employees . He didn't get all of them because many of them were former employees .

So while an apology has reportedly been issued to the staff , what it doesn't address and at least in reports , what we didn't understand being addressed was that Fallon's inconsistent behavior towards the subordinates there . Those behaviors were marked by hostility and passive , aggressive remarks , and we heard about a good Jimmy and a bad Jimmy and not .

A lot of people in my DMs tell me that those accusations that became public in the Rolling Stone article and also made their way around social media a lot of them are true . People had kids who worked on the show and they said oh , I can confirm 100% .

Jimmy Fallon does not let this staff look him in the eye , they do not deal with him or he just blows his lid over minor things . So that apology and the context that we all heard it was like a band aid . It's a deep cutting wound that happened to that show and Jimmy addressed it immediately with the staff . But typically that wouldn't work .

But perhaps in this environment it might just work , because now in crisis communication the depth of the apology is important , the sincerity and the accompanying actions that go with it to correct course . So all of those things are vital and Fallon's apology was important for the timing . He reached out to where the pain point was .

But it seems to lack any commitment to the transformative actions that are needed to guarantee a safe , respectful , nurturing work environment . This was not an apology . It appears that followed the framework own it , explain it , promise it . He owned up to part of it , which is what happens in a lot of these homologies .

I'm just going to own up to the easy thing , because I don't even want to address all the other things , and then you explain why that happened and then you make a promise to change . From what we're hearing , there wasn't anything that gave any employee the indication that things were going to change . So what is his leadership role ?

I mean , he's the face of the program , but who's driving it ? Is it the showrunner ? Is it NBC ? Is it Lauren Michaels ? It appears that there's just a lot of passive , aggressive behavior behind the scenes at the Tonight Show and Fallon's role and responsibilities are certainly a part of it .

And since he's the face of the show , he is going to get a lot of the backlash and he's going to get the spotlight and what it reveals about the work culture behind the scenes . Now , just as an aside , if you follow me on social media , you know that last week I was in New York City the day of recording .

I was actually there yesterday , but I was there to do an interview with the network . I'm going to talk about this more later , I can't reveal it right now , but I spent a few hours at a network discussing this topic and actually me failing but this type of topic .

And while I was getting ready to go to that interview , I received a text from Access Hollywood from a producer out in Los Angeles , quite astute , she was producing .

This producer was producing because she put two and two together , that I was in New York City and she asked if I could go to 30 Rock to do an interview for Access Hollywood to talk about Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis . I was running so hard that day because that previous weekend I was in New Jersey at my daughter's soccer tournament .

She's in college and they have that soccer tournament every year and it was pouring rain . Anyone who lives mid to New England , mid Atlantic to New England and I think upstate New York as well , and Central New York , dealt with so much bad weather over the weekend . It was just pouring rain .

So I was tired , I was exhausted and you know when you go to kid stuff , you got to go out with parents and there's wine and all this stuff . I was slugging it on Monday . But when Access Hollywood called , of course I'm going to go . Anyone who knows me personally or even if you have a parasocial relationship with me , you know I'm going to go .

But what that also meant is that I was going to NBC and I was knowing that I was already working on this podcast .

It was fascinating to me and Access Hollywood , even though it's Hollywood , it's an NBC production , so they have a workplace and part of their offices are at 30 Rock and so when I went up there for the interview , when I was walking down the hall .

I was being led down there by a producer and to get to Access Hollywood you have to go through the Tonight Show . You have to go through all the dressing rooms . You know the offices , you know Jimmy Fallon Questlove , you know everyone from the Tonight Show . And it was crazy to walk through it .

So I did take some very , very quick photos while I was there , because it was truly . Not only was it just a crazy moment for me , molly doing this , knowing what young Molly wanted to do in her lifetime and here she was at ABC and NBC in the same afternoon was crazy to me .

And that I was not working in television though I did way back in the day at the local affiliate , but that I was there being interviewed for national television is still crazy to me and it shows the craziness of social media . But of course I asked the producer who was bringing me down .

I said , oh , so here's Fallon , here's Fallon , right , I just wanted to get him talking about something . And on the other side of all the Tonight Show offices , when you go down the hallway , so it's this back very kind of narrow hallway and there's the studio . So they have all those studios up there and then they have all the offices .

So that's where you know . They go out and they do the work in the green room and all this across from . So the Tonight Show was all dead because they're on strike . Nobody is there , so the offices are dead . It's only news , really . That's operating still .

But across the hall was a new talk show , and I asked the people in my live tonight this is going to be the midpoint ad break for me to tell you that I want you to join PR Confidential . The night of this recording , I had my first live where we were talking about , you know , trendy news stories .

I had my technically my first live in August , when it was about we discussed how to get a job in public relations and marketing and we have a webinar there . So if you're still interested , just head on over to PR Confidential . The webinar is there . It's open to everyone .

And then for the members the members of the PR Insider Group they have access to the guides that are there as well . But that was my first live , but tonight was my first . Let's talk about trending news stories . Let's talk about popular culture . We talked about Jimmy Fallon , we talked about Drew Barrymore , we talked about Oprah , I mean Ashton and Mila .

It was a great conversation . I had so much fun . I started on TikTok live so I could just move people over , because I did send out an email today to my list telling them to come on , but I knew I needed to flood it with people , so I did TikTok live first .

And because I just talked about Ashton and Oprah and Joe Jonas , I have like four TikToks in a row , or two or four , I don't know three or four that have a million views , over a million views . I have to fact check this actually to show the complete craziness of social media . Oh , I was wrong . I was wrong .

When I was in my hotel in New York City I recorded a quick one on Ashton and Mila . It's now 48 hours old , has 2.3 million views . The one before that , the Ashton and Mila apology video , where I was at my daughter's game and I just had no time 1.4 million views .

A 60-second post where I talked about oh my gosh , you know it's September , we have these breaking news stories 2.6 million views . It's the first time I talk about Jimmy Fallon and before that I was talking about Joe Jonas 2.9 million views . I mean this is insanity . So in . I want to like five days , two , four , six , eight , I mean like nine million .

That's crazy . That's crazy . Here's why I mention all those numbers . It's not to say , oh , look at me , look at me and how important I am on social media ? Not at all . I look at those numbers and think what ? Why ? I can't even imagine 1.4 people listening to me , much less 1.4 million people listening to me .

But it shows the power of social media , it shows the power of viral , it shows the power of the algorithm and so when someone hits a crisis , when they're in the swirl of a media storm , it can become so much greater and so much bigger because of social media .

And you mix in like someone who we know , you know a fan favorite , someone who might be duplicitous , someone who may not be who they appear to be , and you have a story that is ripe for going viral .

But what's interesting about the Jimmy Fallon story and this is what I had mentioned in my live I dropped it to them , I showed them some pictures when I was in the hallway .

When I was taking the photos , I said across the hall , I asked the people in my live who do you think is moving in across the hall from Jimmy Fallon , because when I was there I asked , I said , oh , what's going on here ? Because there was all this hustle and bustle .

And hustle and bustle , new talk show , hint , someone else who went through a toxic work culture problem . They had their own BR crisis . It was a new story . But the difference , the reason why it wasn't as big of a new story one , it was daytime , but also they nabbed it right away . They issued a statement immediately , instagram Carousel and also brand-wise .

This person seems to be just a genuinely good person and that's Kelly Clarkson . I thought how interesting Both of these shows are across the hall from each other and I'm telling you , across the hall we're talking . It was so narrow it almost felt like I could reach my arms out . That's how narrow it was , and that they're both literally in the same space .

It's just crazy . And they both went through the same issue . So let's look at a comparative analysis now . What are the industry standards ? And in looking at the responses . So I mentioned Kelly Clarkson and what she did . So 11 anonymous employees accused the Kelly Clarkson show also NBC of fostering a toxic work environment .

It was 10 current employees and one former . So that ratio makes it tough , because it's 10 current , that they're overworked and underpaid while at the same time subjected to a work environment that was traumatizing to their mental health sound familiar .

So the report described employees as lower level staffers who said they needed to take on additional jobs such as babysitting , dog walkers and Uber Eats drivers just to get by financially . Now , that story when it came out , if you remember it was a bit of a hit , like I do remember , because it was Kelly Clarkson .

I thought , oh , kelly , I love you , I don't want anything bad to happen to you . So I was watching it and when you splice that story , it's really a story about how staffers are being treated . But again , kelly's the host of that show . Her name is on the show , but a production company is what really runs that show in a showrunner .

We don't know the true behind the scenes on it . But when you look at the statement by Kelly Clarkson and how quickly the story went away , you know that she really was almost bifurcated in a way , because she doesn't treat the staff like that . But there weren't any stories at all about Kelly Clarkson being the problem . It's how the show was run .

Kelly Clarkson doesn't decide how much lower level staffers are paid . I mean that's straight out of production . So it wasn't good for NBC and Kelly Clarkson , just as the face of it had to speak up about it . Now , compared to the Jimmy Fallon story , it's very , very similar .

Compared to it again , the numbers are a lot lower , but in this article published in Rolling Stone , the complaints were like one former employee said I remember going up on the roof of the stage to cry , being like oh my gosh , what am I doing ? Why am I putting myself through this ?

Another former staff member specifically said I think the executive producer , alex Duda's a monster . I have a friend who's an executive producer who warned me about taking this job because apparently she's done this on every show she's worked on , so there's history there .

So employees did say that Clarkson was fantastic and that they would be shocked if she knew what was going on . Another staffer added that the host has no clue how unhappy her staff is .

So that's why the Kelly Clarkson crisis is a little different than Jimmy Fallon , because the Rolling Stone article about Jimmy Fallon paints him in a bad light as well that there's good days , there's good Jimmy days and bad Jimmy days , and Jimmy Fallon isn't nice to everyone in that there could be substance abuse issues there .

There's a lot of buzz and a lot of rumors and blind gossip about Jimmy Fallon struggling with alcohol .

I had mentioned on the live tonight in PR Confidential that I remember back in I think it was 2016 , when Jimmy Fallon almost lost his finger because he was wearing his ring and it's called a ring avulsion where it almost ripped off like his ring , got caught in something , almost ripped his entire finger off .

So he was in a cast for a long , long time on the show , but the accident was kind of cloudy . We weren't quite clear about what happened . So in that case , there's just a lot of speculation around it and I just remember the news stories like there's no doubt that this guy was drinking . Now does that make a PR crisis if someone struggles with alcohol ?

And there's other rumors that he struggles with drugs too , but those are just rumors and allegations . But a lot of that came into my direct messages , my DMs for social media . So I think universally , everybody is talking about the fact that there's a lot of stories about Jimmy Fallon .

But then again on my live tonight , someone was a waitress who waited on him and said he's absolutely wonderful , which that tracks as well too .

Right , and so I think it boils down to people are just human and everybody has their failings , but sometimes when they're celebrities , they get used to being treated a certain way , and when the persona doesn't match professionally and on air , personal , people just get uneasy with it .

Now , the statement that NBC put out is very similar to the statement that was released for Kelly Clarkson . So a statement was shared back then with Hollywood reporter , a spokesperson for NBC Universal . So same thing as Jimmy said . This quote , tell me if it sounds familiar .

We are committed to a safe and respectful work environment and take workplace complaints very seriously , and to insinuate otherwise is untrue . When issues are reported , they are promptly reviewed , investigated and acted upon as appropriate . The Kelly Clarkson show strives to build a safe , respectful and equitable workplace that nurtures a culture of inclusivity and creativity .

Oh my goodness , it's like the same statement . Right , it's the same statement . That's why the attempt at NBC is not a heavy one , because NBC is putting out that problem statement , they're denying it and same thing they just diminished it . You know , just like what Jimmy Fallon ? Now I just want to touch briefly on Ellen DeGeneres .

So , back in 2020 , if you remember , it all started with a tweet and it was from a comedian . And again I went back to my live and I said does anyone remember his name ? And some people in that live clearly worked in entertainment because they knew they came up with Kevin T Porter . And his tweet said right now , we all need a little kindness .

You know , like Ellen DeGeneres always talks about Smiley emoji heart , she's also notoriously one of the meanest people alive . Respond to this with the most insane stories you've ever heard about Ellen being mean , and I'll match everyone with $2 to the LA food bank . And he tagged it that post .

As of the third week of September , 11,000 retweets , which are not tweets , now they're posts . So 4,600 quotes , 63,000 likes and quotes means someone retweets with a quote on top . So here's an example I worked at Real Food Daily , served her in Portia at brunch that's her wife , portia .

She wrote a letter to the owner and complained about my chip nail polish Not that it was on her plate , but just that it was on my hand . I had worked till closing the night before and this was next morning Almost got me fired .

So Ellen DeGeneres was being , you know , exposed again for not being who she is on screen compared to who she is in real life .

Now , that story was Buzzfeed , and Buzzfeed spoke to one current and 10 former employees on the show the same number ratio as Kelly Clarkson all of whom asked to remain anonymous , fearing retribution from the talk show and others in the entertainment industry .

So they said that they were being fired after taking medical leave or bereavement days to attend family funerals , and one employee , who claimed she was fed up with the comments about her race , essentially walked off the job . Others said they were also instructed by their direct managers not to speak to DeGeneres if they saw her around the office .

By the way , same accusations about Jimmy Fallon , and that was in my DM . So many people told me directly that Jimmy Fallon did the same thing . So now , that was not Rolling Stone , that was Buzzfeed .

But isn't it interesting in those three stories from Rolling Stone , rolling Stone , jimmy Fallon , rolling Stone , kelly Clarkson and Ellen DeGeneres in Buzzfeed that they all center around the same type of toxic workplace ? All the employees are anonymous , all the employees are essentially saying the same thing , but just different anecdotes . It's also similar , isn't it ?

Do you want to know a very interesting through line about all three of those stories . They were written by the same reporter , christy Lee Yandoli the name I mentioned at the top of the podcast , who wrote the Rolling Stone article about Jimmy Fallon , also wrote the story about Kelly Clarkson .

That was in Rolling Stone magazine and she also wrote the story for Buzzfeed about Ellen DeGeneres . It's the same reporter . How crazy is that ? Well , not so when the stories are so similar . As an aside , I had to look her up . I thought , oh my gosh , did she write about James Corden , like I needed to see how far does a through line go ?

She was writing about those three because those were very specific and what it feels like in those three articles when you compare them together , the similarities that she likely knew . She's based out of Hollywood . She's a Hollywood reporter . She's done a lot of work and she did . I looked into her . She graduated , I believe , from Syracuse .

She went to a school in New York , so I think it was Syracuse . That's a comm school , so it's making sense . My apologies for not knowing precisely , but I do remember that she was a woman studies major . So a woman studies major graduated from Syracuse . Writing this article in Hollywood absolutely makes sense . All of it fits .

All the pieces fit together perfectly , because a woman studies major is going to understand injustice , they're going to understand how minorities are treated . They're going to understand power struggles . They're going to understand the history of , maybe , women working in environments like this .

So it makes perfect sense that she would be the reporter that would write these types of stories , but for her to be the one reporter to write all of these stories . So think about all the stories that you've heard about talk show hosts and toxic environments In the past three years . They've all been written by the same person .

They were all originated by the same person . Isn't that crazy ? It's just crazy .

I know that I'm in a position of privilege and power and I realize that with that comes responsibility , and I take responsibility for what happens at my show . This is the Ellen DeGeneres show . I am Ellen DeGeneres , my name is there . My name is there . My name is on underwear . I'm not sure what I'm saying .

We have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about the show , our workplace and what we want for the future . We have made the necessary changes and today we are starting a new chapter .

Never complain , never explain . It's very much my motto , but , as my dad pointed out to me on Saturday , he said , son , well , you did complain , so you might need to explain . Look , when you make a mistake , you've got to take responsibility . So I thought I would . If it's OK , I would share with you what happened .

So a couple of weeks ago I was in New York with some friends and we went for breakfast at one of my absolute favorite restaurants . It's a place called Bath As-Arts and I genuinely I love it there . I love the food , the vibe , the service . If I lived in New York I'd go every day , on the proviso that they would let me in .

So we sit down , we ordered , and my wife explained that she has a serious food allergy .

They're all about hostile work environments . They're all about this underlying culture fear . They're all about the serious impact of employee welfare , both mentally and financially , and just these poor working conditions . It's highlighting these deep-seated issues within the production environments in these shows .

So it's not just the network , it's not really a network and it's not just the host , it's the production environment . But the hosts are taking the hit . So we have to reevaluate these types of crises , which is the reason why I think Jimmy Fallon is gonna get on through .

He's gonna slide right on by , and that's because Jimmy Fallon , to viewers and fans , is still the affable guy right . He's well received in the public . He doesn't have that Ellen problem of being like a truly nasty person .

If there was a Kevin T Porter tweet about Jimmy Fallon and there were 63,000 , you know likes and 46,000 replies to it , there's 72,000 , those are just the quotes . There's like 72,000 replies to it , he would have a much bigger problem . But he doesn't have that .

He does have challenges in his behavior and he may have substance issues that's not confirmed at all but I believe he's going to be able to get through that because he does have a better brand . Now let's just talk about moving forward . It is five days after that expose came out wait one , two , three , four , five , six .

And , what's interesting , that some people noted on the live and also on TikTok that the Strike Force 5 podcast so that's Fallon , Jimmy Kimmel , Stephen Colbert , John Oliver and Seth Meyers , you know got together and they have this podcast . Now a new one was uploaded on Tuesday Wait , you mean , I compete with Strike Force 5 ?

And they did not address the accusations against Jimmy and the Tonight Show , and a lot of people were talking about that on Twitter . But the reason why it was because it was pre-recorded , so we'll have to listen for next week . Oh , next week .

So Strike Force 5 is going to come out the same day as this podcast , so I won't be able to talk about it here , but you know what I'm going to do . I'm going to wait to do my TikTok and then I'm going to wait to see . That's what I'm going to do .

I'm going to upload this podcast and then I'm going to go to Strike Force 5 and see what Jimmy has to say . So there may be an addendum to this , OK . So what's the solution ? Moving forward ? What can they do ? You know where do we go from here .

So , in light of the current situation , you can't overlook the importance of NBC and Fallon taking the steps that go beyond the statements and apologies . For any other industry , any other sector .

You would need to do that because when there's a deep rooted problem that requires you know some type of a solution from investigations and taking everything seriously I mean those are serious allegations .

It would be wonderful if Fallon really addressed all of it publicly and if the Tonight Show or the production and NBC really showed a commitment to not just a one-off effort but sustained effort to building a culture that supports and nurtures talent instead of stifling it with intimidation and fear . Let's see how that's being done .

We never saw that with Ellen , but Kelly Clarkson did explain that . Also . It's incumbent upon NBC and Fallon to embrace this moment not just as a crisis but as an opportunity to bring back that respectful culture Like can you show us that things have changed , Because people are going to watch Jimmy Fallon every night .

They're going to see him laughing and being Jimmy Fallon , but they'll wonder what's going on behind the scenes . Now , for anyone else , this is going to be the portion let's just call it the learning curve . How does this relate to you ? So we're talking about viewers here . We're talking about industry insiders . But what about your sector , when you work ?

I mean , do you work in a place with a toxic work environment ? Do you run a place with a toxic work environment ? What would you do if someone came out and said something about where you work ?

You don't want to take a page out of the NBC playbook and come out with , you know , just a simple band-aid of a Pallum statement , and you don't want to do a Fallon and only you know . Speak to the staff .

You really want to make public changes , because if this is public information and everybody knows it's a public crisis , you want the response to be public as well . So don't fear the expose , because it's already coming out anyway .

Now , maybe Rolling Stone isn't going to do something about you , but people are talking about you and it's going to affect hiring , it's going to affect sales , it just is .

So if you can be more open about understanding and accepting that there are problems in the workplace and making those changes , that is a terrific way to be able to get through any type of crisis . So I'm curious what you think . What should NBC do about Jimmy Fallon ? What does Jimmy Fallon do ? Did the responses cut it or not ?

So I want to hear from you . So jump over to PR Confidential . The link is in the show notes . So this is my online space now . It is a place for subject matter experts . That's what's a little bit different than Patreon .

It's a platform for people to go if they have questions and lives , and just an environment of inclusivity , and I want to foster environment where everyone is welcome and I want to take everyone's questions . So head over there , Ask me questions . What do you think ? Give comments , I would love to know . And , of course , you can reply to social media as well .

However , in PR Confidential , especially in the lives , it can be a space for more candid dialogue . We start chatting about these things . All right . In every episode , I leave you with an indestructible PR tip . It's that one practical takeaway to help you build an indestructible reputation . And here it is .

If one person has an experience in some environment that you have created , one person is enough , and whether that's the workplace , maybe it's school , maybe it's a classroom , maybe it's some type of group , anything If it's public facing , if it comes out and it's public , the social media environment has a way of taking their words and their need for justice .

And it is going to be fast . What the downfall . Jimmy Fallon is protected by NBC , perhaps Lauren Michaels , but if it happens to you , who's going to be your savior ? So the response be swift , be quick , respond , respond appropriately and make sure that people know that you're going to change and that that environment is going to be a positive one .

That's all for this week . On the podcast . Be sure to chime in with your takes across my social media accounts and , of course , in PR Confidential . Bye for now .