Jimmy Fallon's ill-timed joke caused a politician to storm off The Tonight Show

Jimmy Fallon has forged a reputation of being gracious to his guests. Sometimes, too gracious. The Tonight Show host has become infamous for the compliments and the praise he heaps upon guests on a nightly basis.

Ironically, one of the few instances in which Fallon did the opposite led to his guest walking off the show mid-interview. The incident happened in 2023, when the host was interview the Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie.

Fallon joked about Chris Christie's weight

The two men were discussing ice cream, and Christie was relaying a story about how his family went on a boat ride to get ice cream. "Okay, let's go for ice cream," he recalls telling his kids. "I'm like, alright, so we get off the boat..." Before the Governor is able to finish his story, however, Fallon interjects with a joke about his weight:

"First of all, you weren't like 'alright,' you were like 'yahoo!'"

Christie did not like that. He proceeded to say goodnight to the crowd and walk off the Tonight Show. It seemed as though the interview was truly over, but thankfully, the Governor agreed to come back out and resume. He did, however, throw a dig back at Jimmy Fallon.

"If I ever leave public life," he explained to the host. "You’re going to have to hire two writers just to replace the garbage you say about me." The rest of the interview went decently well. Fallon, however, decided to throw a few more digs at Chris Christie this year.

Fallon also roasted Christie during the presidential race

Christie dropped out of the presidential race in January, and Fallon was at the ready to roast him during his Tonight Show monologue:

"Christie’s just like us. He made a goal for 2024 and then quit 10 days into January. It happens! It happens to everybody."

Fallon did, however, commend Christie's desire to keep Donald Trump out of the White House. "If he has to, he could always shut down the roads leading to the White House," he joked. "He’ll do whatever — he can always do that."