Jimmy Fallon Under Fire for Blackface Sketch From 2000 ‘SNL’ Episode

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Jimmy Fallon is trending for all the wrong reasons. Early Tuesday, Twitter held a “Jimmy Fallon is over party” after a clip of him wearing blackface in a 2000 Saturday Night Live sketch surfaced online. Twitter users were quick to slam the sketch, which features Fallon in full blackface as he impersonates Chris Rock, as “racist,” and many called for The Tonight Show host to be “canceled” outright. As one frustrated critic put it, “Jimmy Fallon? The only thing he should host is a parasite.” Ouch.

Fallon’s controversial sketch first aired in 2000, right in the middle of his six-year tenure on Saturday Night Live. The bit stars Fallon, in full blackface, impersonating Chris Rock on Regis Philbin’s (played by Darrell Hammond) late night show. Fallon-as-Rock laments that there are “not a lot of black folks” on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, likely because “black folks don’t want to answer questions.”

“Regis, do you think the only way to get a brother on the show is to name it, Who Wants $50 Cash and a Pair of Pumas?” asks Fallon.

While NBC has scrubbed the full sketch from the internet, intrepid Fallon critics were able to find a portion of the bit, and a 2019 YouTube video with the caption, “NBC fired Megyn Kelly for mentioning blackface. Jimmy Fallon performed on NBC in blackface” was uploaded to Twitter (Kelly was fired after she defended blackface on-air). Almost immediately, users began calling for Fallon to be canceled and fired from NBC.

But as with all things online, not everyone believes Fallon should be canceled for the 20-year-old sketch. Many Twitter users called out “Jimmy Fallon is Over Party” participants for their “hypocrisy,” as fellow late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman have had their own blackface scandals. “His ex Sarah Silverman did the same!” tweeted one user. “People are really bored,” said another.

Fallon has yet to address the blackface controversy, but The Tonight Show continues to air every night, so he has ample opportunity. All things considered, apologizing seems like a good move.

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