Greg Gutfeld Hugs Jimmy Fallon and Plugs His Game Show in Fox News Host’s First Late-Night Crossover

Greg Gutfeld made his broadcast late-night debut on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” Thursday evening, marking a rare network crossover with the Fox News host visiting NBC’s 30 Rock.

A conservative media personality is a rare booking for “The Tonight Show” and the 10-minute segment between Gutfeld and Fallon largely steered clear of politics. After being introduced to the stage, Gutfeld met Fallon with a big hug, lifting his own feet off the ground mid-embrace before taking a seat. Gutfeld then nosedived into a story about meeting Fallon roughly 15 years ago at a Hell’s Kitchen bar, in which both parties were “wasted.”

In the segment, Gutfeld also gave an account of various “firings” that led him to working at Fox News. He shared that his hired his mother as a “senior correspondent” for his first Fox News show, “Red Eye.” His mother’s duties amounted to watching Fox News and catching Gutfeld up on the stories of the day.

After Fallon congratulated Gutfeld on “everything you’ve done,” the conversation concluded with a plug for the new Fox Nation game show “What Did I Miss?,” in which contestants are sequestered for 100 days and then asked if recent news headlines are real or fake. After a jokey tangent about how “we didn’t pay them anything,” Gutfeld did bring up the topic of Trump and how “you never know what he’s going to do,” adding to the appeal of his show’s premise. Fallon added: “You wouldn’t even have to sequester people.”

Though “Gutfeld!” airs 90 minutes earlier than traditional broadcast late-night programs, like Fallon’s and Jimmy Kimmel’s, the Fox News host has often touted that he draws a larger viewership than such programs. When Stephen Colbert announced on-air that “The Late Show” would be ending in 2026, Fox News published an article about the consistent growth in ratings for “Gutfeld!” since its premiere in 2021. The piece also underlined that “Gutfeld!” has drawn a bigger audience than Colbert for nearly two years, albeit in its earlier time slot.

The Fox News host teased his appearance on “The Tonight Show” last week, calling the taping “the biggest crossover since the Harlem Globetrotters visited the Golden Girls.” He also side-eyed other late-night hosts by adding, “Unlike the other guys, Jimmy sitting with me proves he’s not afraid of upsetting his peers or afraid of my mesmerizing charm.”

Fallon took a few jabs at President Trump in Thursday’s monologue, with jokes like “The only places Trump didn’t [tariff] are North Korea and Epstein Island.” However, “The Tonight Show” has largely opted out of political commentary in recent years, even as other late-night hosts like Colbert, Kimmel and Fallon’s NBC peer Seth Meyers have all leaned further into the subject.

The Jonas Brothers also guested on Thursday’s episode of “The Tonight Show,” while Good Charlotte provided a music performance.