Steve Martin and Martin Short left Jimmy Fallon visibly uncomfortable during an appearance on The Tonight Show this week, delivering a pointed roast that referenced a recent booking controversy and included jokes about the host’s alleged ties to the Epstein files.
The three — Martin, Short and their Only Murders in the Building costar Selena Gomez — sat for a wide-ranging interview that took an awkward turn almost immediately when Short opened with a politically charged quip: “Jimmy Fallon, or as the Epstein files know you as, ‘redacted.’” Fallon responded with an uneasy laugh and said, “That is interesting.”
Short continued his roast by likening Fallon’s smile to “an email from Trump — all caps,” and Martin added, “I know we’re just being funny here, but honestly, of all the late-night hosts, I’ll miss you most… When you are deported to Uganda.” The jokes drew laughter from the studio audience while Fallon’s reactions ranged from forced chuckles to a terse “Oh yeah, interesting” as he moved the conversation along.
The barbs appeared to reference fallout from a segment last month in which Fallon hosted Greg Gutfeld, a Fox News personality who anchors the late-night opinion program Gutfeld!. Gutfeld’s past comments, including suggestions that conservatives should “reclaim” the word “Nazi” and a remark that crime would disappear if women were to vanish from the planet, prompted criticism after his appearance on Fallon’s show and led some viewers to question the decision to platform him.
During the Tonight Show interview, Short appeared to jab at Fallon’s guest choices when he said, “I just love [your] show, I wish I could see it more. But, you know, it’s on so late, and I’m kind of a Gutfeld guy.” Fallon did not laugh at that line and instead shifted the topic, a moment that social media users later seized on, sharing clips of the exchange online.
Video of the segment circulated across platforms, and many viewers expressed delight at seeing the normally genial host unnerved during an on-camera roast by two of his longtime comedy contemporaries. Posts reacting to the exchange ranged from amusement at Fallon’s discomfort to praise for Martin and Short’s willingness to deliver sharp material on a mainstream late-night stage.
Martin and Short, both veteran comedians and frequent late-night guests, were on Fallon’s show to promote their series with Gomez. The trio’s segment mixed promotional discussion with improvisational humor and rapid-fire jabs, a style that has been central to Martin and Short’s public personas for decades. Fallon, who has cultivated a broadly genial on-air manner, is not the first host to be the target of a routine or roast, but the episode underscored how late-night comedy can intersect with current controversies and audience opinions about guest bookings.
The Tonight Show episode aired on NBC, and the clip of Martin and Short’s roast has been widely shared online since broadcast. Fallon has not publicly elaborated on his decision to book Gutfeld or on the exchange with Martin and Short beyond the on-air segment.