Jimmy Fallon Responds After Viral Photo Sent #RIPJimmyFallon To Trending Heights

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Jimmy Fallon is, in fact, not dead despite what Twitter says.

Jimmy Fallon doing his monologue on The Tonight Show
(Image credit: NBC)

Despite what Twitter seems to think, Jimmy Fallon is for sure alive, and definitely not dead, despite #RIPJimmyFallon trending on Twitter. While yesterday’s trending topics revolved mostly around one of Taylor Swift’s upcoming projects, the Eras Tour, and frustrated Swifties who were having issues with Ticketmaster, a viral photo sent #RIPJimmyFallon up onto the trending page right next to the popstar's flustered fans. Now, the Tonight Show host has responded to the hashtag.  

While it’s unclear what exactly started this trend, there was a photo that went viral with #RIPJimmyFallon. Notably, as you can clearly see, the photo is not of Jimmy Fallon…check it out for yourself here: 

So, people were posting RIP messages for the SNL alum with photos of the two other late-night hosts with similar names to his. Both James Cordon and Jimmy Kimmel were mocked. This led to Fallon tweeting at Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, for help: 

Elon, can you fix this? #RIPJimmyFallon

And while Musk’s partner Grimes was being asked for advice about elf ears from Megan Fox on Instagram, Fallon reached out to the Twitter owner for help. To which Musk responded, saying: 

Fix what?

The new owner of Twitter then followed up his reply with: 

Wait a second, how do we know you’re not an alien body snatcher pretending to be Jimmy!? Say something that only the real Jimmy would say …

This kerfuffle comes after, and I think is related to, Musk’s plan to make it so anyone can get verified on Twitter. The initiative has caused many users to poke fun at and complain to the owner, including Universal Orlando, who posted an on-brand joke about raising the price of churros. Also, based on the amount of mockery over this issue, and the real problem of users impersonating public figures it seems likely Fallon's trend would be related to this.

Speaking of this joke, one person mocked the entire situation by posting what looks like a real Fallon Tonight post. However, the birth date is wrong, as it says he was born in 1923 when he was actually born in 1974.

The joke continued after Fallon responded to the chaotic trend, as one user quote tweeted the talk show host’s post, saying: 

It’s almost like he’s still with us 😔 #RIPJimmyFallon

Meanwhile, this post seems to encapsulate how Fallon might have actually felt when he saw this silly trend: 

As someone who finds goofy Twitter trends incredibly amusing, this one got me good. I was both simultaneously confused and laughing when scrolling through the ridiculous tweets. It reminded me of how social media hilariously reacted to other shows like She-Hulk when Daredevil appeared, or the worked-up House of the Dragon fans whenever Criston Cole does something dumb. 

While the Swift memes were frustratingly funny, this Fallon fluke was a welcome intermission to the Swifties’ frustration and the people ranting about the new verification rules. 

If you would rather watch the very much alive Jimmy Fallon on TV instead of social media, you can watch The Tonight Show Mondays through Fridays on NBC at 11:35 p.m. ET or with a Peacock subscription. 

Riley Utley
Riley Utley
Weekend Editor

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.