Jimmy Fallon sadly lost his mother a little over a week ago and was forced to cancel his show as a result. While the Tonight Show host understandably took last week off for grieving and spending time with family, he returned on Monday to try to inject some of his brand of fun into late night and pay tribute to his late mother. While holding back tears, Fallon talks about how Gloria used to hold his hand as a kid to share a moment that takes on a lot of meaning once that person is gone:
“When we were little, my mom would walk us to this store, me and my sister, and she would squeeze my hand three times and say, ‘I love you,’ and I would squeeze back, ‘I love you, too…
Last week I was in the hospital and I grabbed her and squeezed I love you. I just knew we were in trouble, you know? I feel so grateful to be able to do this every single night and I’m very appreciative of all the support from all of you that my family received over the past week.”
It’s a tough moment to watch, especially if you’ve ever been in the same situation, and it is a rare moment of reality from Fallon that cuts through his television persona to give a glimpse of the true guy who puts on a show every night. It might not be your cup of tea, but you have to respect the dedication to going out every night to keep an audience interested when they’ve got so many other distractions to hold them.
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Fallon closed the moment with one more message for his mother and the people who sent words of support to him over the past week:
“Thank you for watching, thank you for helping me and my family recover from this loss. Mom, I’ll never stop trying to make you laugh. I love you.”
Tonight was a special @FallonTonight. I suggest you watch it y’all. #ijs
— ?st (@questlove) November 14, 2017
(Via The Tonight Show)
