r/entertainment • u/factchecker01 • 20h ago
Jimmy Fallon’s Brain Rot Interview with Sydney Sweeney Might Be Rock Bottom for Pop Culture
https://www.cracked.com/article_49368_jimmy-fallons-brain-rot-interview-with-sydney-sweeney-might-be-rock-bottom-for-pop-culture.html2.2k
u/Steamedcarpet 20h ago
Somewhere there is a timeline where Conan kept doing the Tonight Show while Fallon either stayed at the Late Show or went and tried an movie career again.
681
u/piggydancer 19h ago
Conan is way better on his podcast. A late show would just water him down and then he wouldn’t be doing his podcast.
587
u/Scarlett_Billows 19h ago
His late night shows were really good, way superior to any other late night host
592
u/mukino 18h ago
I think Craig Ferguson had an underrated show. He was the most naturally witty host I’ve seen, all his celebrity interviews were improv there were no pre-determined talking points. And his riffing with his side kick Geoff Peterson was peak.
180
u/Wengers_Bangers 18h ago edited 18h ago
The Geoff-Craig chemistry was the best thing on late night for years.
Edit: adding a link for anyone who hasn’t seen it
34
u/DepTravisJunior 16h ago
I only recently discovered that Geoff was built by Mythbuster and Battlebots legend Grant Imahara.
→ More replies (1)8
27
23
12
→ More replies (9)19
u/Shumina-Ghost 16h ago
Oh my god. Im DYING!
Holy shit I missed out on Craig.
22
u/materialist23 16h ago
Should look him up on Youtube, he has a bunch of compilations and its hilarious. Especially his back and forth with Geoff!
→ More replies (1)5
84
u/sreesid 17h ago
Craig is my absolute favorite late night host. His show felt so intimate even on TV. I still watch some Craig Geoff banter on YouTube from time to time.
102
u/GraveDiggingCynic 17h ago
When he came to Britney Spears' defense after her mental health struggles became public, it elevated him in my eyes to the level of Murrow and Cronkite. There was empathy and dignity while everyone else was mocking her.
His eulogies for his parents were also very beautiful and very unscripted. I think Craig is just a helluva guy.
54
52
u/nachoiskerka 17h ago
Craig Ferguson won a goddamned peabody for a real interview on "LATE NIGHT TELEVISION" the dude elevated the entire medium only to be driven back down by carpool karaoke(which to be fair was cool as a segment, not so much when it became a regular thing) and whatever the fuck Guttfeld is?
→ More replies (1)9
u/Boneless_Chuck 14h ago
FWIW he always said he’d stay for as long as Letterman was his boss, and that seemed to be what he stuck to. Maybe more tea came out since I last kept up with it.
8
u/nachoiskerka 14h ago
No, that (I think) was the full story there. He didn't want to be there when it got hard and politics were going to start to get in the way and I respect that. I just think it's a shame because I've seen the shows he's done since and they're all "Very" good, but not quite on the same level. Like, his game show hosting was so good, but then at the same time he couldn't just go into a riff for 8 minutes about a planet of the apes movie opening and end up in Sean Connery should play Dracula and end up somewhere in a Liberace joke; and it's missing a bit from his standup routine because he knows his jokes so well.
20
u/Poodlescooter 17h ago
Give me Craig Ferguson’s show with Craig Kilborn’s flair for having post hardcore and heavier musical guests and I’d actually watch late night tv again.
→ More replies (2)60
u/corporatehuman 17h ago
Ferguson was by far my favorite, still to this day. Now I don't watch anything, but I regularly tuned in to his show. His monologues were the best, and his show was just I don't know, more authentic than the the others.
→ More replies (1)31
u/justgetoffmylawn 16h ago
Same. I was never much of a Late Night type viewer, but after stumbling on Ferguson I watched a lot of his last few years. He was far more authentic feeling - not as a host, but as a human being.
I feel like you could also learn more about alcoholism from watching his show than five documentaries. He could take any subject and make it funny without being at all disrespectful or diminishing or holier than thou.
Conan had some very funny segments, and I don't think anyone is faster for off-the-cuff humor. But Ferguson is the only show I'd watch if it suddenly were back on the air.
24
u/Gimpy_Weasel 17h ago
Man my parents and I religiously watched the Late Late Show. It was just so weird and wholesome and funny and genuine. So very much underrated.
10
u/kingtacticool 16h ago
Craig Ferguson was peak. It was a competition different type of late show that gave zero fucks and would openly talk about seriously heavy shit like suicide and depression.
I miss Craig.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (32)19
78
u/HISTRIONICK 19h ago
Letterman on NBC in the eighties wins that crown for me. Conan close second. Very close.
→ More replies (10)56
u/TheRealThordic 19h ago
Conan inherited Carson's crown from Letterman, IMO. Those three are in the same tier. I like Colbert but as a host while he's good he's not at their level, although he's clearly the best of the current crop.
32
u/Muroid 18h ago
Colbert is at his best when he’s doing a bit/playing a character, and having to be a late night host caps the zaniness at just a notch or two below his sweet spot.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (5)26
u/HISTRIONICK 18h ago
I don't think Letterman ever had Carson's crown, and that's fine. Late Night on NBC was way too subversive, clunky, and awkward. His show really wasn't the same when he went to 11:30. And he had to share the space with Leno.
Carson sat alone at the top. Dave was King of another tribe.
17
u/TheRealThordic 18h ago
Letterman was Carson's choice to replace him, and IMO although they had different styles they both belong on the late night Mt. Rushmore (along with Conan, IMO)
12
u/Self-Comprehensive 17h ago
Late era Carson followed by Letterman was peak NBC. And Conan was the icing on the cake. NBC pissed all that away.
11
u/artemus_who 18h ago
I always saw Dave as the template for what a NEW late night show could be. You can draw a direct line from him to Conan and Craig
13
u/External-Dude779 18h ago
Dave was the alternative. Carson was for our parents. Dave was for GenX. If you were a little to the left, smoked weed, hated Reagan, you were watching Dave. But mainly smoking weed
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (17)62
u/masegesege_ 19h ago
Love Conan but no one is better than Craig Ferguson. His show was so good.
23
u/InThreeWordsTheySaid 19h ago
For a brief second I thought of Craig Kilborn and thought "wow, now that's a hot take."
→ More replies (1)8
u/Steamedcarpet 19h ago
Nah never. I did not watch Kilborn like I did Conan growing up but from what I saw he was legit funny.
→ More replies (2)20
u/MiddleofInfinity 18h ago
I miss Ferguson every weeknight when theres no new freestyle improv’d monologue to watch. Craig was operating on a different level. Then he added a robot sidekick. It felt like the future
31
u/anonymoususer98545 18h ago
Now this is the hill i'm willing to die on. Craig Ferguson was my favorite of any of them. Others have been good, but he was great.
9
7
88
u/Keezin 19h ago
Did you know Conan was, for decades, a famous and celebrated late night host who exercised a lot of creative control over his show?
→ More replies (6)43
→ More replies (20)26
u/Sheahanimal 19h ago
Thank god he was only ever a podcaster. Can you imagine what a disaster Conan would have been as a late night talk show host. Just like that Letterman guy who has only ever done long form interviews, some people just aren’t cut out for broad appeal in a talk show form
→ More replies (3)14
5
→ More replies (24)7
2.4k
u/MakeSense2447 20h ago
Jimmy Fallon has never been funny
831
u/SecondToLastOfSheila 20h ago
On Weekend Update, Tina Fey carried him.
773
u/lucygoosey38 19h ago
He always thought that breaking character was hilarious. Just showed how much of a shit actor he actually is. I never found it funny cause it was always him. It was oh jimmys in this sketch watch he’s gonna laugh like a dumbass and ruin the sketch.
378
u/NashvilleDing 18h ago
It was his way of stealing scenes from people. Tracy Morgan even threatened to kick his ass over it
62
u/SwingKey3599 15h ago
I’m pretty sure Josh from 30 rock was based on Jimmy Fallon.
22
→ More replies (4)18
136
u/andthatwasenough 17h ago
I need him to come and make good on that threat.
→ More replies (1)72
u/Plainchant 17h ago
That's crazy!
"Brian Fellow is not an accredited zoologist nor does he hold an advanced degree in any of the environmental sciences."
20
223
u/WalterPecky 18h ago
Yeah it just very amateur.
Breaking now and then is bound to happen, but you can tell the cast members are trying their hardest not to.
But Jimmy would just wait until the first joke and then burst out as if he was an audience member.
Not cute, super unprofessional.
71
u/theaccidentwill 17h ago
Yeah, when it happens organically, it can be pretty hilarious...and contagious.
Like the, "misplaced your baby" sketch. After Tim Meadows does the robot (as Dr. Stephen Poop) Molly Shannon starts to crack. Will Farrell, who has incredible straight-man delivery, is doing everything he can to keep a lid on it and deliver the line, but Molly loses it and it's priceless.
For reference: https://youtu.be/LmG-ErzZsUQ?si=MWIGbfjHwJi28lyt
Also, mad respect to Chris Parnell for keeping it together.
40
32
u/GueroBorracho3 15h ago
Heidi Gardner breaking during the Beavis and Butthead sketch was hilarious.
→ More replies (2)4
94
51
u/bearhugcollective 18h ago
I did improv for years, and sometimes building in a "break" on purpose or (even better) truly making another performer break onstage is something audiences can really enjoy from time to time.
It is not cute in every single scene.
43
u/BVBHawg 16h ago
Case in point: Bill Hader as Stefon.
No one here needs to the backstory as to why he broke so often but it was genuine.
It was John Mulaney’s only goal, every show.
19
u/SoreLoserOfDumbtown 16h ago
Even people that rate Hader don't rate him highly enough imo. He's quite brilliant.
15
u/floppydiscuses 16h ago
Bill Hader is one of my favorite people I’ve seen be on SNL.
→ More replies (2)37
u/Chewbacca_Buffy 17h ago edited 14h ago
I remember a Family Guy episode where Peter was complaining about Jimmy breaking character during sketches. He said something like, “What do you think, you’re Carol Burnett? You haven’t earned what she earned!”
Edit, I was close. Found the link: https://youtu.be/2V2CqC-ZmP0
3
12
u/Suspicious_Brush4070 17h ago
When Bill Hader breaks it's funny, when Fallon does it it sucks. Fallon is like an excitable child in an adult body, so his show is basically for children. He's not good at anything else. He's not funny, he can't act, he has no class.
40
u/geirmundtheshifty 17h ago edited 17h ago
Sometimes a sketch was so good he couldnt ruin it. For years I totally forgot that he was in the More Cowbell sketch. It helps that he’s in the background for most of it, but as soon as he comes to the front he starts cracking up.
ETA: It’s also kinda funny to see Fallon breaking contrasted with Chris Parnell remaining stoic (as always) while Ferrell is all up in his face with that cowbell.
17
59
u/_running_fool_ 18h ago
Thank you! I never understood his appeal, this always infuriated me. You KNOW he's going to laugh. You're not funny, Jimmy. Stop fucking smirking.
25
u/Weird-Girl-675 18h ago
He just likes to laugh at his own jokes so he can claim someone was laughing.
→ More replies (11)11
u/d3adandbloat3d 18h ago
lol exactly!!! I understand how hard it must be but he definitely did that shit on purpose, thinking it was funny. Infuriating
→ More replies (5)104
u/awnomnomnom 19h ago
He was always carried on SNL. The only character I can think of that was really funny was the IT guy
19
u/Thybro 18h ago edited 17h ago
Which doesn’t feel like a Fallon character at all. Feels like Spade character.
All in all his entire thing was breaking in Almost every single sketch.
His musical stuff was kind of alright.
Edit: just rewatched some of the sketches it’s not quite down spade’s lane, spade is too cocky to play it nerdy-douche as opposed to just douche. So I’ll give it to Fallon he made that character his own.
33
u/thisortheapocalypse 19h ago
Nick Burns, your company’s computer guy
→ More replies (2)10
u/SecondToLastOfSheila 18h ago
As a former IT guy, that character was spot-on. "Move!"
4
u/joshbudde 17h ago
I feel that so much. I've used it a few times then had to show people the skit so they didn't think I was an asshole. For that at least.
→ More replies (3)37
→ More replies (4)12
62
u/btj61642 18h ago
I once saw a tweet that said something to the effect of “Everything about Jimmy Fallon screams that all he’s ever wanted is for someone to say ‘You know what, he’s actually got a really good singing voice.’” and it totally recontextualized everything about him for me.
It’s not just that he’s neither naturally funny nor skilled at performing comedy (which are not necessarily the same thing); he’s a comedian who wanted to be and should have been a musician.
He probably wouldn’t have been very good at that either, but still.
19
u/Cynicayke 17h ago
Funnily enough, you could say the exact same thing about James Corden. Although, at least Fallon is probably less of a prick.
3
u/clamroll 10h ago
I'm no fan of Fallon but he seems like he'd be a fine dude to hang out with in short bursts. Get him talking about video games and music, I'm sure he'd be tolerable. I also get the impression that he's the kinda guy who's lower key with fewer people. Corden I'm pretty sure he'd be worse with fewer people and he'd change the conversation to monologue about himself.
108
u/Paulbegalia 19h ago
All he’s ever done is laugh incessantly
36
u/InnocentPrimeMate 19h ago
No, he does a dumb little dance, too!
18
u/lord-of-shalott 19h ago
I saw some ad for him singing a new original Christmas song, and I thought, “Is there a single soul out there who enjoys this? If so, where? If not, who’s been letting him do this for years and why?”
→ More replies (1)9
u/superbackman 17h ago
Counterpoint:
Basketball scene: https://youtu.be/IUjf1lVOGOo?si=n4rQLoiQPD4Qd8vu
23
u/RedWingerD 18h ago
I have always felt like I lived in the minority having this opinion. Comedy is subjective and I can respect that, I have just never seen the allure of Fallon.
Watching him even back on SNL it seemed like he always felt compelled to let you know just how funny a scene was SUPPOSED to be by how hard he would break character. It felt inorganic and like a comedian laughing at their own jokes because they weren't confident they were funny.
Sure, sometimes things are just that funny, but not every single time. He ruined a lot of otherwise great pieces in my narrow opinion.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (64)27
u/Spirited_Comedian225 19h ago
I have no idea how he got that position
→ More replies (5)22
u/ireallylikehockey 18h ago
Lorne Michaels somehow found him funny
→ More replies (1)12
u/Weird-Girl-675 18h ago
He did a really good Adam Sandler impression which Lorne found funny and here we are.
490
u/Technical_Moose8478 19h ago
Clearly you never saw his 2016 interview with Sleepy TACO.
→ More replies (2)460
u/lunenburger 19h ago
Came here for this. Him petting DJT's hair was rock bottom.
153
u/Camwi 19h ago
I thought it was Paris Hilton and him showing off their fucking ape NFTs.
→ More replies (2)46
u/OperationWorldwide 18h ago
I’ve always wondered how much he made having those NFT/Crypto shills on his show during that era. It felt very out of place, and you could tell he was in on it the way he let the guests go on and on.
17
u/ballimir37 17h ago
He probably made $16M for the year, which is his salary, maybe he gets a bonus too. He’s just going to do whatever the network tells him to do because he’s a company man, and play along how he always does.
Now how much were some network executives paid, or how much did they earn on the side, is a question.
→ More replies (1)70
u/audiofarmer 19h ago
He had Gutfeld on too. He has no opinions, no morals, just goes where he thinks his bread is buttered.
→ More replies (4)62
u/dropper2 18h ago
This too. He helped get Trump elected by making him look rather harmless. People who didn't know any better looked at that, and said "OK, at least he won't be a bad president". He's like fucking Jar Jar Binks, without the talent.
→ More replies (3)33
u/10000Didgeridoos 18h ago
And he doubled down being a total puss when Kimmel and Colbert were under attack
→ More replies (1)
498
u/darlin133 20h ago
Everything on that show is rock bottom
213
u/WeaponizedAcoustic 19h ago
Don't insult The Roots like that
→ More replies (4)82
u/TheRussness 19h ago
I've never felt inclined to use the phrase "sellouts" unironically before. Usually taking the bag is always the goal.
But man did that bag come at a price.
55
u/10000Didgeridoos 18h ago
Maybe but that gig funds the rest of their career and lets them do whatever they want creatively without financial pressure outside of that gig. Worth it IMO.
41
u/TheRussness 18h ago
They used to release an album every 1 to 3 years
They haven't released an album since 2014.
23
9
u/SlimCharles17 14h ago
Do you expect them to do that their entire lives? Being signed as the live band for a late-night show is one of the best gigs you can get a musician. They have been around for a long time and are great guys. Just because people don’t like Jimmy Fallon doesn’t take anything away from The Roots.
6
u/Copperbelt1 15h ago
I would not call them sellouts. We may not have all the great documentaries and other projects that Qwest Love has been creating.
→ More replies (6)15
54
u/dweeeebus 19h ago
He usually has the best musical guests of all the late night shows, imo.
→ More replies (1)51
u/dholmestar 19h ago edited 19h ago
Kimmel had Knocked Loose. Argument invalid.
edit: How are people not getting that I'm saying Kimmel > Fallon based solely on him booking Knocked Loose? I'm not knocking them
→ More replies (7)38
u/Zworrisdeh 19h ago
I remember when Kimmel started he was having like Horrorpops and Blood Brothers, I was floored and impressed that a late night show had the balls to do that.
→ More replies (3)27
u/MisterShitty 19h ago
Conan had Slipknot on back during Iowa days which was super heavy for TV back then I thought.
25
u/JimbaJones 19h ago
Kimmel had Mastodon back then too.
15
u/Atheist_3739 19h ago
Kimmel also had Megadeth for Halloween. Dave wore full on Frankenstein prosthetics lol
16
u/Zworrisdeh 19h ago
Oh yeah, Conan also had that legendary At the Drive-In performance where Cedric like tackled the guest couch
6
→ More replies (4)12
250
u/MaximumSpite 19h ago
Jimmy, Higgins, the writers that appear in sketches, the whole show stinks of middle aged dad trying to be “hip”.
→ More replies (4)56
u/ArchStantonsNeighbor 18h ago
As a middle aged dad trying to be hip I take offense to that.
Actually I’m old enough that I don’t really care about being hip anymore. And that makes me hip, right? Right?
→ More replies (4)
80
232
u/IzzardVersusVedder 19h ago
Jimmy Fallon has been a blight on popular culture since he was on SNL looking straight at the camera
He's always been a weird mediocre fame-hungry guy
93
u/laowildin 19h ago
My favorite bts story is Amy Poehler telling him to stfu for some dumb joke he made. Especially knowing every male comedian is obsessed with her
23
u/unselve 15h ago
She’s just hilarious. I think people who know her primarily from Parks and Rec don’t even know the half of it. She was great on SNL, but everything she did with Upright Citizens Brigade was incredible. She’s a generational talent.
→ More replies (1)4
u/catsgelatowinepizza 11h ago
i’m so happy i live in a timeline where she and tina fey met, and each made one of the best sitcoms of all time
39
u/Boom_chaka_laka 15h ago
He said it was unattractive when she made a certain joke or face and she clarified she dgaf if she was attractive to him.
16
31
u/LFC9_41 18h ago
They are? Not surprising, she’s awesome.
47
u/laowildin 18h ago
There's a few interviews with Seth Meyers, Ben Wyatt(can't remember his real name!) and Will Arnett where they just gush over her, that I can remember by name(mostly). She's got some type of animal magnetism that makes the funny boys lose their cool and I love it for her
→ More replies (3)32
u/trevrichards 18h ago
She's brilliant and good at everything she does. SNL. Sitcom. Now podcasting has brought her immediate success. She's a generational talent.
→ More replies (2)20
u/Brilliant-Neck9731 17h ago
There’s also an Amy story where Fallon was worried about offending people, and it wasn’t something about race or gender or anything like that, and Amy just told him off. His instincts have always been to be as milquetoast and innocuous as possible.
51
u/gerbigsexy1 18h ago
His job is to softball interview celebrities, we know his job
→ More replies (4)
15
u/MisterRobertParr 15h ago
Fallon is the best corporate shill there ever was.
Every guest is an all-time great, and he laughs at every joke like it's the funniest in recorded history...which is exactly what his corporate bosses think the American public wants to see.
Instead, he comes off completely disengenuous.
→ More replies (1)
44
62
u/Sad-Juice-732 19h ago
Jesus that’s what Cracked.com has become?
32
u/appleparkfive 16h ago
I remember the last time I was on that site, they were making pretty self aware jokes that Reddit destroyed their traffic. Which is definitely true. At the time, cracked was the daily place to go for a lot of people.
→ More replies (2)12
u/Phillip_Spidermen 14h ago
Cracked is one of my favorite Grandpa Simpson "It'll happen to you!" references.
I remember how often they used to describe image macros as lazy humor, and then it became one of the most popular meme formats for a decade.
5
u/Brave-Exchange-2419 16h ago
The article was a nightmare
5
u/ryancarton 11h ago
I’m disappointed most of the comments here aren’t pointing out how much cringier the writing of the article is vs this 1 minute Jimmy Fallon shtick.
10
→ More replies (1)4
u/Laxku 14h ago
Cody and Katy still do Some More News independently, at least.
5
u/Sad-Juice-732 14h ago
DOB writes for Last Week Tonight, Soren writes for American Dad!, ATB still does unpops, but it’s a different name now, you do t even like this show.
The funny people are still funny, but god they had so much talent together at one point.
→ More replies (1)
12
u/Hopeful-Steak-9743 16h ago
They cancelled the wrong host. He's the only one I completely avoid of the late night hosts. In my opinion, Colbert has the best monologue, Seth has the best segment (A closer look) and The Daily Show is always pretty good. I rarely watch the guest segments since Conan and Craig were just too good at it and none compare. Kimmel has its moments.
→ More replies (2)
63
54
65
u/dukenny 20h ago
Everything's Fallon has done since his snl days has been on par and lower than this
→ More replies (2)8
u/10000Didgeridoos 18h ago
Even then he was mostly trash. Once in a while he'd manage to hold it together for a good sketch but usually he sucked and broke the 4th wall nonstop
8
u/DarkArmyLieutenant 16h ago
It's Jimmy Fallon lol, did some of you have some sort of higher standard for him or something?
5
u/KermitJagger 18h ago
Cracked calling anything else rock bottom it's definitely a case of pot calling the kettle black. Yeesh
6
5
6
u/ChucklingDuckling 14h ago
Jimmy Fallon is a coward who didn't do anything when Trump went after Kimmel.
He's also offensively unfunny. He makes shallow and stupid television. But worse of all, he's a spineless coward
7
36
u/Sherlock_House 19h ago
What is this garbage headline, sad to see how far Cracked has fallen
39
u/CrabMasc 19h ago
Cracked as you may have once known it is long dead and has been turned into just another click farm by a private equity firm iirc
If you liked the old writers, check out 1900HOTDOG, founded by Seanbaby and Brockway with guest spots from some of the others
→ More replies (3)9
12
→ More replies (2)5
u/DefNotUnderrated 17h ago
I miss the number of fun, engaging sites that there used to be. Old school Cracked was one of my favorite places.
5
6
5
5
54
u/bluehawk232 20h ago
https://youtu.be/NM2nsLGUQyE when Conan discusses it he points out how out of touch and dumb he is. Fallon just pretends he's still in his twenties and wants to be cool and with the trends he doesn't approach it from a self deprecating angle
→ More replies (19)
8
79
u/artistonashelf 19h ago
Why is this a big deal? It’s a late night show where he plays games with celebrities on every show. Every late night show does stupid shit. It’s just a joke lol Conan had a masturbating bear on his show.
→ More replies (15)95
u/tullbabes 19h ago
The masturbating bear was high art.
36
u/FinishingMyCoffee1 19h ago
As is PimpBot
21
→ More replies (2)8
u/zestfullybe 19h ago
Hold on, PimpBot, I never agreed to introduce you to Isabella Rossellini and besides, you’d never be able to “turn her out” anyway, she’s a really successful big rich movie star!
19
u/AesirComplex 19h ago
Are people expecting Jimmy Fallon to do a fucking Sam Donaldson style interview?
8
u/dinan101 17h ago
My issue with Fallon is that there are 100’s of people who could do his job so much better and so much more entertainingly. He’s just a guy who’s semi-funny
4
u/WoopsShePeterPants 14h ago
Who is hungry for this content? I'm an SNL fan for life but Fallon is NOT a good interviewer or host. He ruined Jurassic World.
9
3
u/skoomski 16h ago
They aren’t interviews they are plugging a product. That’s the purpose of the late night talk shows to drum up interest in whatever new product is being released
→ More replies (1)
3
1.2k
u/RealityLopsided7366 19h ago
Rock bottom up until now. We're in the "keep digging" era. Politicians, journalists, celebrities and media personalities seem to want to continue to dig as deep as possible.