The Real Reason Jimmy Fallon Is Facing Some Major Backlash

Jimmy Fallon rose to fame through a lucky break with Saturday Night Live. According to USA Today, Fallon landed a role on SNL when he was just 23 and hasn't looked back since. In fact, Fallon was one of the few people who managed to make Lorne Michaels, the show's creator and producer, laugh during his audition.

According to USA Today, people said things to Fallon like, "Lorne won't laugh" and "Don't expect him to laugh." However, when Fallon went in and did an impression of Adam Sandler, Lorne Michaels put his head in his hands and laughed.

Fallon worked for seven seasons on SNL and just as he was itching for something else to do, he heard that Conan O'Brien might be leaving his talk show. When NBC started waffling around, Michaels told them: "If you don't do it with Jimmy, I won't produce," per USA Today.

With such a powerful ally, it's no wonder Fallon has enjoyed such a prosperous career (he boats a whopping net worth) plus fame and praise. While everything was going great, an old video just surfaced from Fallon's SNL days and he might have a few things to regret. Keep reading to find out why Jimmy Fallon's in big trouble. 

A clip surfaced from a Saturday Night Live sketch from 2000 with Jimmy Fallon in blackface, prompting a "Jimmy Fallon is over party" on Twitter. In the skit, Fallon impersonates Chris Rock on Regis Philbin's (played by Darrell Hammond) late night show, according to Decider.

Fallon-playing-Rock explains that there aren't "a lot of black folks" on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire because "black folks don't want to answer questions." He then added: "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?"

The clip aired right in the middle of Fallon's six-year tenure on SNL, according to Decider and has prompted some considerable disgust online. On Twitter, one user wrote: "Jimmy Fallon? The only thing he should host is a parasite."

Someone else shut down Fallon's defenders by saying on Twitter: "Anyone saying it was 20 years ago should remember it wasn't appropriate then and it isn't now. How could he think this was a good idea?"

Still others are pointing out that SNL should also be punished, noting that Fallon didn't come up with this on his own: "Shouldn't the entire show be cancelled? It's not like he did his own make up and stormed on set." Someone else responded with: "Exactly. He probably didn't even come up with the idea for the sketch. SNL has a team of writers and Lorne Michaels approves every sketch."

In response to Jimmy Fallon's use of blackface, critics are pointing out all of the times in the past when people have been called out for it and punished (or not.) Many noted the 2018 event when Megyn Kelly was let go from NBC News because she defended blackface as a legitimate halloween costume. According to Rolling Stone, Kelly said that blackface was "OK" when she was a kid as long as "you were dressing like a character." In this light, many people said that Fallon should be cancelled if Kelly herself got fired.

Other people are pointing out that comedian Sarah Silverman did the same thing but she never got punished for it. It doesn't even stop there. A clip of Jimmy Kimmel in blackface has surfaced. Someone said of this: "And y'all don't forget that Jimmy Kimmel also did blackface on an ABC skit and refused to apologize after. The caucasity." While many people are outraged, others are taking a stand to defend Fallon and other comedians. Keep reading to hear their surprising reaction.

While many people are legitimately really upset by the video of Jimmy Fallon, others are calling for people to calm down. One person referred to the hashtag "Jimmy Fallon Is Over Party" and said: "Anyone else getting sick and tired of twitter cancelling people left and right?"

Others added to this conversation, saying that people are just bored: "Bruh now they are canceling Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel people are really bored."

Meanwhile, other Twitter users are pointing out the hypocrisy of people, noting that Robert Downey, Jr. did it too and no one called him out on it.

Others are claiming that Twitter has become too sensitive of a place, saying: "I'm not even sure what the 'outrage' is about, but I'm getting tired of people getting offended by something that probably wasn't meant to offend anyone. Edit: I looked it up, and yeah, I don't think Jimmy Fallon was legit trying to offend anyone. Grow up Twitter."

Still, though. Might be a good time for Fallon himself to jump online and respond to this.