Kathy Griffin Claims Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’ Blacklisted Her for Being ‘Too Inappropriate’

Kathy Griffin declares she’s been effectively blacklisted from Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” for being “too inappropriate or controversial.”

The comedian stated she hasn’t appeared on NBC’s late-night talk show since Fallon took over in 2014, leading her to conclude she’s no longer welcome.

View this post on Instagram

“I have not done the Jimmy Fallon show since it was on at 12:30 Eastern and Pacific, so I guess I’m banned from the Fallon show, or inappropriate, or too controversial,” Griffin said in an Instagram video.

“I don’t even know. When you’re banned from a show — and if you guys know me, I’m banned from most of them. You’re welcome, America and Indonesia. They don’t usually tell you you’re banned. They just can’t seem to find room for you.”

Her last appearance on “The Tonight Show” occurred in 2013 when Jay Leno was the host.

Griffin praised Fallon, stating he “was always super nice to me” during her appearances while he hosted “Late Night” from 2009 to 2014. However, she criticized some of his booking choices since he took over “The Tonight Show.”

“I do think it was a bad call for him to have convicted rapist Conor McGregor on,” she said, referencing the former UFC champion’s appearance on June 16.

“I think the Fallon folks made a mistake by having Conor McGregor on. I think it sends yet another message to women and marginalized folks everywhere that we’re not equal and you can do anything to us, and the perpetrators are still going to be out there being glorified.”

She also mentioned Fallon’s 2016 interview with Donald Trump, which occurred two months before Trump won the presidency.

Griffin captioned her Instagram post, “Fallon, what kind of message are we sending here?! AND can we PLEASE save canceling people for the ones who actually deserve it?”

The comedian ignited widespread backlash in 2017 after posting a photo of herself holding a fake bloodied severed head resembling then-President Trump.

At that time, Trump stated Griffin “should be ashamed of herself,” while Griffin later remarked, “I don’t think I will have a career after this … [Trump] broke me. He broke me.”

Earlier this year, Griffin reaffirmed her stance on the controversial image.

“I absolutely lean into it, because I was right, and I was ahead of my time,” she told WUSF in February.

She last starred in FX’s 2021 comedy documentary “Hysterical,” voiced an episode of “Futurama” in 2023, and self-produced her 2025 stand-up special, “My Life on the PTSD List,” which chronicled her lung cancer diagnosis and the fallout from the 2017 Trump photo scandal.

In April, Griffin acknowledged donating $10,000 to Rep. Eric Swalwell’s unsuccessful campaign for California governor, stating she contributed because he was a “freaking white, straight guy.”