Jimmy Fallon‘s former stage manager is accusing him of discrimination, saying Fallon fired him because he wanted a woman for the job instead.
Kristie Cavanagh of the New York Daily News reports that ex-stage manager Paul Tarascio has filed an official complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York Division of Human Rights, alleging that he was demoted and then fired from the staff of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” all for being a dude. When he was bumped from first stage manager to second, and replaced by a woman he saw as “less qualified,” he said show higher-ups told him “Jimmy just prefers to take direction from a woman.” Tarascio says Fallon even demanded that all the people who miked him be female, but relaxed the rule “after a series of women proved to be unsatisfactory in the position” (we find it kind of hard to believe that women just can’t hack putting mikes on people, but whatever).
The Daily News seems totally shocked by the gender dynamics in the story (headline: “Jimmy Fallon accused of sexual discrimination by Paul Tarascio, a MALE ex-employee”), but it’s not so hard to believe that a boss could discriminate against men. If the allegations are true (and some sources dispute this), Fallon wouldn’t be the first supervisor to hire or promote people he finds attractive. Or maybe he’s just another casualty of the GPS lady.