Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy Fallon Responds to Backlash Over Addison Rae's TikTok Dance Segment

Jimmy Fallon addressed criticism over a previous "Tonight Show" segment in which Addison Rae performed viral TikTok dances without crediting the moves' creators

In this March 26, 2021, file photo, singer Addison Rae teaches host Jimmy Fallon TikTok dances on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."
Andrew Lipovsky/NBC

After returning from a week-long vacation, Jimmy Fallon devoted a full segment of "The Tonight Show" to correct a previous mistake surrounding TikTok dances.

On Monday, Fallon addressed backlash his show faced following a segment during its March 26 episode that featured TikTok personality Addison Rae performing eight dances popular on the social media platform. At the time, users on social media criticized "The Tonight Show" for failing to give on-air credit to the mostly Black creators of the dances.

"On our last show before break, we did a bit with Addison Rae where she taught me eight viral TikTok dances," Fallon told viewers in the below video. "Now, we recognize that the creators of those dances deserve to have their own spotlight.

"So right now, some of the creators will join me to talk about how their dance went viral and then perform the dance themselves."

Fallon then spoke with the creators and watched them perform their dances. The guests included Mya Nicole Johnson and Chris Cotter ("Up"); Dorien Scott ("Corvette Corvette"); Fur-Quan Powell and Camyra Franklin ("Laffy Taffy"); Adam Snyder, Nate Nale and Greg Dahl ("Blinding Lights"); and Keara Wilson ("Savage").

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For her part, Rae shared the segment to her Instagram Story with the caption, "So happy these creators were able to be highlighted. I hope we can all dance soon. Show them love!"

On March 30, Rae spoke to TMZ about the criticism and said the creators "definitely deserve all the credit because they came up with all of these amazing trends."

She added that "they were all credited in the original YouTube posting," and that "they all know that I love them so much."

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