Jimmy Fallon is under renewed fire this summer after his decision to host Conor McGregor on The Tonight Show, a segment that has drawn thousands of critical comments on YouTube and reignited scrutiny of Fallon’s history of platforming controversial guests.
McGregor was found liable in a civil suit brought by Nikita Hand, who alleged he violently assaulted her in December 2018. A jury ordered McGregor to pay Hand 248,000 euros in damages, plus roughly 1.5 million euros to cover her legal costs, bringing his total financial liability to nearly $2 million.
McGregor’s appeal of that verdict was denied. He has faced other legal complaints as well, including one tied to an alleged 2023 incident at a Miami Heat game that was dropped in December 2025.
None of that history came up when McGregor sat across from Fallon. The segment has become one of the most-criticized moments of the show’s recent run, pulling in more than a million views and roughly 10,000 comments, far above the show’s typical engagement, with viewers repeatedly asking why Fallon chose to platform him at all.
The backlash fits a pattern critics have tracked for years. A Current Affairs piece published in April, before the McGregor interview aired, had already flagged Fallon’s tendency to give controversial or ethically fraught guests an easy ride, pointing to his 2016 sit-down with Donald Trump, in which Fallon tousled Trump’s hair and asked little of substance, and his 2021 segment with Paris Hilton promoting Bored Ape NFTs without disclosing the risks involved.
The McGregor backlash also comes as Fallon faces questions about his show’s direction and his conduct off-camera. A 2023 Rolling Stone investigation, based on interviews with 16 current and former “Tonight Show” employees, described a workplace staffers characterized as tense, with some saying they were belittled or intimidated, including by Fallon himself.
Employees also alleged inconsistent, erratic behavior tied to dr*nking. Fallon apologized to staff on an all-hands call following the report, saying, “It’s embarrassing and I feel so bad,” and later adding, “Sorry if I’ve embarrassed you and your families and friends. I feel so bad I can’t even tell you.” NBC responded with a statement saying it was “incredibly proud of the Tonight Show” and that the company encourages employees to report concerns “so that we may address them accordingly.”
Ratings pressure has compounded the criticism. When Rosie O’Donnell filled in as guest host for Jimmy Kimmel this month, Nielsen data showed her topping Fallon in the ratings on her first night, a result that has fueled further questions about the show’s standing among its late-night competitors.
For now, NBC has not issued a direct response to the McGregor-specific criticism, and the segment remains up, continuing to draw comments questioning the network’s editorial judgment.
