Jimmy Fallon's recent injuries have people concerned that it may be more than just clumsiness — and sources close to him say he may have a drinking problem. With three injuries in just four months, NBC is worried about its extremely successful "Tonight Show" host, but are not doing anything about it just yet. "It's gone from being a whisper to a chatter," an industry insider told the New York Post.
It all started in June when Fallon, 41, almost lost a finger and had to get emergency surgery after tripping on a rug in his kitchen. A few weeks later, he chipped his tooth and, just last week, he tripped while carrying a bottle of Jägermeister while in Cambridge, Mass., to accept the Elmer Award for Excellence in Humor from the Harvard Lampoon, slicing his hand on the shattered glass.
"He was definitely drunk," an eyewitness told Radar. "At first, people thought it was a joke when he fell since he had hurt himself before. After he fell, the police helped him up. He immediately started yelling, 'More Jäeger! More Jäeger.' Eventually someone brought him more Jäeger."
With so many trips to the ER in such a short time, more and more stories about his drinking have been coming out.
"He's a mess," a Manhattan bartender, who has been serving him for years, told the NY Post. "I love him. Everything you've heard [about his behavior] is true.... He likes to hang out and be the life of the party."
Just last week, it was revealed that Entertainment Chief Bob Greenblatt and "Tonight Show" Executive Producer Lorne Michaels "have recently had several very frank and honest conversations about Jimmy," an NBC insider told Radar. "Lorne is extremely protective of Jimmy, obviously. Does Jimmy like to party and have a good time? Absolutely, and there [are] late nights of going out with the crew after the show finishes taping, but it's not every night.... Jimmy shows up for work, on time, and is always professional. The NBC family adores Jimmy, but Bob is monitoring the situation. If he needs to intervene, it will be done."
Another source close to Fallon insisted that this wasn't the truth. "Jimmy Fallon is totally fine and the conversation between Bob and Lorne didn't happen," said the source.
With so many stories, it's hard to tell what's really going on.
Back in February 2014, his friend, comedian Seth Herzog, told New York magazine: "Everyone in New York has a Jimmy Fallon story. It's always like, 'In 2000, Jimmy threw this dude out of a bar, or poured his beer on someone, or got on a table and sang a song.'" His former "Saturday Night Live" co-star Horatio Sanz also told the magazine that the two of them "were superfunctioning alcoholics, definitely.... They say that goes hand in hand with 'SNL,' some kind of substance-abuse issues, because it's so stressful, you easily find yourself blowing off steam a lot."
