Jimmy Fallon’s infamous 2016 Tonight Show interview with Donald Trump has been blamed for everything from normalizing Trump enough to get him elected to his declining ratings. But in another reflection on that moment, Fallon admits he screwed up. Featured Video Hide In an interview for Awards Chatter, a podcast made by the Hollywood Reporter, Fallon expressed regret about ruffling Trump’s hair on his show. Advertisement Hide “I’m sorry. I don’t want to make anyone angry—I never do and I never will,” he said. “It’s all in the fun of the show. I made a mistake. I’m sorry if I made anyone mad. And, looking back, I would do it differently.” The hair ruffling, which NBC posted to YouTube before the episode aired (but has since been taken down), drew almost instant ire from journalists and viewers alike. Some blamed Fallon personally for normalizing Trump at that moment—and later getting him elected—because of that interview; it was a factor with at least one voter. In the following months, Fallon tried to downplay the amount of influence he may have had over the election, with Seth Meyers stepping in and saying that he should be blamed for Trump getting elected. Advertisement Hide Earlier acknowledgments of the Trump interview by Fallon addressed his critics’ issues, but he also spoke about how he didn’t radically change his show because of it, noting that it wasn’t like him. But even then, some thought it wasn’t enough as Fallon was attacked for the interview pretty much any time he popped up back in the news. It began to affect him and his staff, noting that it “just got bigger and out of control” as other comedians started to make fun of him for the gaffe, leading him to check out of Twitter. Fallon described the period as a “down time” that was “tough for morale.” Describing the effects of what he called a “gang-mentality,” Fallon said, “You go, ‘Alright, we get it. I heard you. You made me feel bad. So now what? Are you happy? I’m depressed. Do you want to push me more? What do you want me to do? You want me to kill myself? What would make you happy? Get over it. '” Speaking about his critics, he wants them to view his entire body of work, not just that interview before insulting him and calling him evil. And true, Fallon has gotten more political, in his own way, since the Trump interview, which included speaking out against white supremacy and joining the Parkland students to march for gun control. But even with this most recent interview, some might see his latest attempt to apologize and express regret as “too little, too late” in the wake of Trump’s recent family separation policies. Advertisement Hide H/T AV Club<doc-sep>Fallon tried, but ultimately failed at his lofty goal to stay out of politics. Just when he thought he was out, they sucked him back in. Not that The Tonight Show is in for a makeover. We're not expecting any closer looks or take-downs of senators from other states. It will remain the destination for those most wanting to forget the issues of the day, for at least the majority of a late-night hour. It's not even a given that Jimmy will address Trump's comment on his show, the way Colbert and Kimmel most definitely would, and have, with past slights. "I don't support his politics but I don't make that part of my show," Fallon told Feinberg. "It's The Tonight Show, it should be for everybody. So...I will make fun of the president, which I did with Obama. That's all I lived through, all I had was Obama, so this is the first time I'm dealing with a different president. So I have to learn and so I have to see what he does, I see what Mike Pence does, I see what those jokes are. So that changes the show. The ratings never bothered me, I don't really care about the ratings and never will, that's someone else's job at NBC." But bit by bit, whether it's standing up for transgender rights and supporting gun control or donating to a pressing cause, Jimmy Fallon has had no choice but to let politics into his life and, subsequently, his show. He may not like it but, as it turns out, he is good at it.<doc-sep>Jimmy Fallon's idea of acting like a man clearly differs from President Trump's. In a Sunday night tweet, the president, who famously never apologizes, criticized the "Tonight Show" host for once again expressing remorse about "humanizing" the then-candidate during their notorious September 2016 interview, in which he stroked Trump's hair. Trump claimed that Fallon had called him after the episode and said it received "monster ratings." He then told the comedian to "be a man" and stop "whimpering" about the "hair show." Later that night, Fallon responded to Trump's tweet, saying he'd be making a donation in the president's name to RAICES, the Texas-based charity Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. Fallon has not said how much he'll be donating in Trump's name but he'll be in good company: It's the latest celebrity example of what's being called "rage giving," or making donations to combat feelings of anger and helplessness in response to the Trump administration's latest action. 'Every time I get mad, I do it again': 'Rage giving' fuels record fundraising for immigrant children Chrissy Teigen recently spurred $1 million in donations to the American Civil Liberties Union when she wrote four checks for $72,000 apiece on Trump's birthday to protest his now-rescinded immigration policy. "You didn't think your $7.20 would be much. Some of you gave $72 you barely had. In just two days, you guys donated over $1,000,000 to the @ACLU," she tweeted on June 16. "Over 20,000 of you donated. You. Did. That. I am so grateful, so happy, so humbled and hopeful to live amongst you wonderful beings." What does it really say? : Breaking down Trump's executive order ending family separations<doc-sep>
President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE slammed Jimmy Fallon on Sunday after the comedian said in a new interview that the public ganged up on him after he petted Trump's hair in an interview on NBC's "The Tonight Show" during the 2016 presidential campaign. "@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous 'hair show' with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have 'humanized' me-he is taking heat. He called & said 'monster ratings.' Be a man Jimmy!" the president said in a tweet. .@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous “hair show” with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have “humanized” me-he is taking heat. He called & said “monster ratings.” Be a man Jimmy! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2018 Trump was referring to a Hollywood Reporter interview on Saturday in which Fallon said that he faced negative backlash for the 2016 interview. ADVERTISEMENT "It was definitely a down time,” Fallon told the publication. “And it’s tough for morale. There’s 300 people that work here, and so when people are talking that bad about you and ganging up on you, in a really gang-mentality." Fallon said he did not do it to normalize Trump, who was the Republican nominee at the time. “You go, ‘Alright, we get it. I heard you. You made me feel bad. So now what? Are you happy? I’m depressed. Do you want to push me more? What do you want me to do? You want me to kill myself? What would make you happy? Get over it,' " Fallon said. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to make anyone angry — I never do and I never will. It’s all in the fun of the show. I made a mistake. I’m sorry if I made anyone mad. And, looking back, I would do it differently," he said.