Norm Macdonald: The Tonight Show wanted me to apologize for my controversial #MeToo comments

TVLine

Macdonald detailed to Howard Stern this morning how he ended up being dropped from last night's Tonight Show at the last minute following outrage over his interview with The Hollywood Reporter in which he portrayed Louis CK and Roseanne Barr as victims. According to TVLine, Macdonald said when he arrived at his dressing room, Tonight Show producers made it clear that Fallon would have to acknowledge his comments, and they urged him to apologize at the beginning of his appearance. Then Fallon himself stopped by and asked, “How should we play this?” Macdonald agreed to address the comments at the end of the interview. But Macdonald said Fallon's producers didn't like that idea, adding that they were "crying" over the idea of letting him appear on-air. “He was very broken up about it, he didn’t want this,”  Macdonald said to Stern. “Jimmy said, ‘Come back whenever you want, but I think it will hurt the show tonight,'” Macdonald said, adding: “I said, ‘Jimmy, that’s the last thing I want to do, is hurt your show.” Macdonald said he understood where Fallon was coming from. “Part of the reason I love (Jimmy) is because he does nothing about the news," said Macdonald. "He’s just a song-and-dance man. He’s not a political comedian.” Macdonald, who apologized on Twitter for his comments after the cancelation, also explained to Stern that "I’m totally behind the #MeToo movement," adding that he wasn't saying what Roseanne and Louis CK have experienced "was way worse than what victims went through. What the victims went through is horrible.”

ALSO:

• The Tonight Show's cancelation is a reminder of how safe Fallon plays it: "Navigating complex issues presented by Macdonald’s dust-up — without fear of embarrassment — requires a host with intellectual heft, a broad sensibility and courage to confront. Jimmy Fallon has yet to prove he bears such qualities," says Colby Hall, adding: "As we saw last night, Mr. Fallon hides from the task of confronting meaningful topics moving the public discourse."
• Macdonald told Stern he was confused during his Hollywood Reporter interview because "I'm a dumb f*cking guy"
• Macdonald's "apology" was a bunch of words resembling an apology, but meant nothing at all
• Macdonald says The Comedy Cellar should give women traumatized by Louis CK's surprise standup $200 each: "I think they could get through the trauma if they were paid $200 and could buy some nice shoes."