Jimmy Fallon has revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 over the holidays.
Taking to Instagram Monday, the late night host shared a photo of himself masked in an isolation room. “Hey guys, on the first day of our holiday break I tested positive for Covid. I was vaccinated and boostered which made me lucky enough to only have mild symptoms,” he wrote.
He went on to thank the medical professionals who “work so hard around the clock to get everyone vaxxed.
“Thank you to NBC for taking the testing protocols so seriously and doing a great job,” he continued before joking, “and also thanks for putting me in the ‘What ‘chu talkin’ about Willis?’ isolation room when they told me the news.”
The host has since recovered in time for The Tonight Show’s Monday return from break.
After Reese Witherspoon left a comment on the post telling Fallon, “Hope you had a speedy recovery,” Fallon confirmed he was “back to 100%!”
When a social media user asked whether the diagnosis would impact the show, Fallon offered more insight: “The positive test came back on 12/18. Back at work today and feeling 100%!”
Fallon spoke further about his experience testing positive on Monday’s show.
He revealed that after the Tonight Show team taped two shows on Thursday, Dec. 16, they took Friday, Dec. 17 off. But he came back on Saturday (Dec. 18) because he was going to make an appearance on Saturday Night Live, which ultimately went without an audience and limited cast and crew due to the omicron surge, and that’s when he tested positive.
Despite getting tested every day at work for over a year, Fallon said for the first time he had a nurse tell him “come with me,” which is when they put him in the “Willis” room.
Fallon explained that every office has a catchphrase from an NBC show on it.
After finding out he was positive for COVID, Fallon isolated from the rest of his family and told his wife to have his daughters get tested. They tested positive but Fallon said “everyone’s fine.”
“Franny had the sniffles for like two days. Winnie had no symptoms at all,” he explained.
But the news that his family also had the disease did allow him to leave isolation and spend Christmas with his kids, which is what he did.
Fallon urged his viewers to get vaccinated and boosted.
“This thing, it’s a banger. It’s a real thing,” he said. “If I didn’t have that, I know, it just felt like, I would be real, real, real sick.”
And he thanked the doctors and nurses who gave him the vaccine and “working so hard out there.”
“You saved my Christmas,” he said.
Anthony Anderson, Adam Devine and Carly Pearce appeared on the show Monday.
Hilary Lewis contributed to this report.
Jan. 4, 12:03 p.m. This story has been updated with Fallon’s comments on Monday’s Tonight Show.
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