Comedian Jimmy Fallon of “The Tonight Show” says he will not be “bullied” into creating hyper-politicized material during the Trump administration.
The election of President Trump has allowed Mr. Fallon’s main competitor, Stephen Colbert of CBS’s “The Late Show,” to tailor material for angry viewers.
Mr. Fallon addressed cultural changes since Mr. Trump’s election, along with pressure to alter his style, during an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to be bullied into not being me, and not doing what I think is funny,” Mr. Fallon said. “Just because some people bash me on Twitter, it’s not going to change my humor or my show. … People that voted for Trump watch my show as well.”
Mr. Fallon added that he did regret not addressing backlash after his interview with Mr. Trump in September 2016.
“I’m a people-pleaser. If there’s one bad thing on Twitter about me, it will make me upset,” Mr. Fallon told the newspaper. “So, after this happened, I was devastated. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just trying to have fun.”
Steve Burke, the chief executive of NBCUniversal, backed the host’s decision.
“If the world gets a little snarkier, I don’t think the answer is for Jimmy to get snarkier,” Mr. Burke told the newspaper. “I think the answer is for Jimmy to be Jimmy.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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