Jimmy Fallon’s on-air tribute for Rob Reiner left fans divided after the late night host went with a short, but sweet message that made no mention of Donald Trump.
The comedian addressed the double murder of Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, during Monday’s broadcast of “The Tonight Show,” where he took a moment to reflect on the director’s last visit and praised him for his impressive legacy.
“Rob was a frequent guest here on the show and everyone here would line up around his dressing room and say ‘hi’ or tell him something that they loved,” Fallon said. “What he’s given to the world through his art. From “All in the Family to going into directing great movies like “Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “A Few Good Men,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “Spinal Tap,” producing “Seinfeld.” Everyone felt like they had a personal connection to Rob Reiner and his work.”
Fallon recalled Reiner going along with a hugging bit during one interview, later praising the filmmaker as the “one of the smartest” and “funniest” people he’s ever met.
While most fans applauded Fallon for his kind words for Reiner, some called the late night host out for sidestepping a couple key facts about the tragedy. Not only did Fallon avoid addressing the grisly details surrounding the Reiners’ passing — that they were allegedly stabbed to death and their son, Nick, was the main suspect — but he also made no mention of Trump, who faced backlash for claiming the couple died as a result of the director’s supposed “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“It’s disappointing that you aren’t defending him the way Seth Meyers did; by addressing how inhumane Trump’s post was about both who Reiner was as a person and the fact he made his killing all about ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome,’” one critic sounded off in the comments on YouTube. “Comedians are supposed to speak truth to power, and you consistently shy away from anything that could land you in the same hot water as Kimmel or Colbert from the President’s complaining and threats. Seth has put himself on the line to say what is right, you pretend it just isn’t happening.”
Another chimed in with, “The passing? You mean the insane slaughter.” A third bitingly wrote, “Wow a whole minute and half? Don’t spend too much time Jimmy.”
Yet, some came to Fallon’s defense, with one fan writing it was “classy” of the “Saturday Night Live” alum to “not make it about Trump.” A second fan on X noted, “Surprised at how perfunctory this was. Looked like Fallon was just going through the motions. Maybe too emotional to deal with any other way.”
Fallon’s decision to not address the Trump controversy isn’t necessarily surprising, given the “Tonight Show” lead previously defended back in September that the show has “never really been” political.
“Our show has never really been that political. We hit both sides equally, and we try to make everybody laugh, and that’s really the way our show works,” Fallon said on CNBC at the time. “Our monologues are kind of the same that we’ve been doing since Johnny Carson was doing ‘The Tonight Show.’”
Watch Fallon’s full tribute above.
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.
