An Amy Poehler and Jimmy Fallon story from their “Saturday Night Live” days has resurfaced on social media following allegations of a toxic workplace environment during Fallon’s tenure as host of “The Tonight Show,” as reported in Rolling Stone.
This memorable incident, recounted in Tina Fey’s autobiography “Bossypants,” sheds light on Amy Poehler’s assertiveness in challenging Jimmy Fallon’s gender-normative reaction to her comedic style. The anecdote was recently shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Erin Overbey from The New Yorker, who commented, “Tina Fey had Jimmy Fallon pegged over a decade ago.”
At the time, Tina Fey served as “SNL’s” head writer and co-anchor of “Weekend Update” alongside Jimmy Fallon. Fey set the stage by describing the scene: “Amy Poehler had recently joined ‘SNL,’ and we were all gathered in the seventeenth-floor writers’ room, awaiting the Wednesday read-through. The room was always buzzing with various comedic activities.”
During this time, Amy was engaged in playful banter with her castmate Seth Meyers, who had replaced Fallon on “Late Night.”
Fey went on to narrate, “Amy was in the midst of some humorous exchange with Seth Meyers across the table, and she made a vulgar, albeit joking, gesture. I can’t recall the exact nature of the gesture, except that it was raucous, explicit, and ‘unladylike.’”
Then, Jimmy Fallon, arguably the show’s star at the time, turned towards Amy and, in a mockingly prudish tone, remarked, “Stop that! It’s not cute! I don’t like it,” as Fey recounted.
However, this was a pivotal moment. Fey continued, “Amy immediately stopped what she was doing, her expression turned serious for a brief moment, and she confronted him. ‘I don’t care if you approve,’ she replied firmly. Jimmy appeared visibly taken aback. Without missing a beat, Amy resumed her outrageous antics.”
This anecdote highlights Amy Poehler’s unwavering confidence and her refusal to conform to traditional gender expectations, even when confronted by a prominent colleague.
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