Dave Hughes defends talk show host Jimmy Fallon amid ‘toxic’ workplace claims

Aussie radio personality Dave Hughes has defended Jimmy Fallon following bombshell claims made against the US talk-show host.

Disgraced talk-show host Jimmy Fallon has found himself a surprise ally in Aussie radio personality Dave Hughes.

The host of NBC’s Tonight Show has been under fire since last week over claims from former staffers that he created a “toxic” and “nightmare” environment on the set.

This morning on 2DAY FM’s Hughesy, Ed & Erin breakfast show, Hughes told his co-hosts Ed Kavalee and Erin Molan that he sides with Fallon as being in the top job can put anyone under a lot of pressure.

“I’m here to defend Jimmy Fallon,” Hughes said on air. “I’ve never met Jimmy Fallon. I’ve never been invited on his show – I may never be invited on his show. But I do have some experience in being … I hosted Hughesy, We Have a Problem, which the TV show was on Channel 10 for five seasons.”

Jimmy Fallon’s former staffers have come forward with shock claims. Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Dave Hughes defended the talk-show host on air.

“There’s a lot of pressure when your name is on the show and it’s easy for you to snap,” he admitted. “There were moments on my show that I wasn’t happy with things that were going on behind the scenes, and I could be seen as being a diva. On this show I can be seen as a diva.

“If you’re the boss of the show – every now and then you lose the plot,” he added.

Last week, in a bombshell Rolling Stone article, two current and 14 former employees at Fallon’s The Tonight Show made bombshell claims against the comedian, which Molan discussed on air.

“They’re essentially saying … that the treatment would hinge of whether Fallon was having a Good Jimmy Day or a Bad Jimmy Day,” she said.

“He apparently would snap and express irritation over the smallest things. His outbursts were kind of the stuff of legends, in a bad way. There were crying rooms apparently, where people went to cry.”

Jimmy Fallon has come under fire following claims that he created a “toxic” workplace.

Fallon has since reportedly apologised to his current staff in an emergency Zoom call shortly after the damaging report came out, in which he said he was embarrassed and feels awful.

“It’s embarrassing and I feel so bad,” he told staff, according to Rolling Stone.

“Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends … I feel so bad I can’t even tell you,” he reportedly said on the call, which was also attended by showrunner Chris Miller.

Fallon said he didn’t mean to “create that type of atmosphere for the show.”

“I want the show to be fun, [it] should be inclusive to everybody. It should be the best show,” he added.

Fallon has interviewed many big names on his show, including Aussie actress Cate Blanchett. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for NBC

Fallon has hosted the NBC talk show since 2014, broadcasting live from the Rockefeller Center in New York, taking over from fellow comedian Jay Leno.

While the show is all fun and games when the cameras are rolling, the former staffers told the Rolling Stone it was the opposite behind the scenes.

“Nobody told Jimmy ‘No’. Everybody walked on eggshells, especially showrunners,” one former employee claimed.

“You never knew which Jimmy we were going to get and when he was going to throw a hissy fit. It was like, if Jimmy is in a bad mood, everyone’s day is f***ed.”

“They are the worst bosses I’ve ever had in my life,” another past employee added. “They use that position of power to bully and treat the staff that way, and the network is aware of how they treat people.”