Comedian Kathy Griffin called out Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday for bringing on his show MAGA-friendly UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who in 2024 was found civilly liable for sexual assault in Ireland.
“I think the Fallon folks made a mistake by having Conor McGregor on,” Griffin said on her show. “I think it sends yet another message to women and marginalized folks everywhere that we’re not equal and you can do anything to us, and the perpetrators are still going to be out there being glorified.”
McGregor was ordered to pay nearly 250,000 euros ($257,000) to his accuser, Nikita Hand, after he was found civilly liable of raping her in a Dublin hotel in 2018. No criminal charges were presented to the UFC star, and he denied sexually assaulting Hand, claiming they had “fully consensual sex.”
One of the most jarring details from the case came from testimony given by Dr. Daniel Kane, a gynecologist and forensic examiner, who told the jury he had to use forceps to remove a tampon Hand had been wearing on the night of the alleged assault that was “wedged inside” her.
Since Fallon’s June 16 interview with McGregor, in which he did not mention the allegations, the comedian’s social media posts have been bombarded with criticism.
“So disappointed in Jimmy,” one comment read. “Not just interviewing but socialising with Conor mcgregor! When someone shows you who they really are, believe them!!”
“Love all the comments you’re receiving, you deserve it,” another comment read.
Actor Christina Ricci shared an Instagram post, originally posted by entrepreneur Adam McRae, that read “Conor McGregor raped a woman so brutally that the EMT who saw her commented on the severity of her bruising.”
“She also had to have the tampon she was using when he raped her surgically removed, as it had been shoved so far inside her,” the post read. “’Why the absolute f**k is this piece of human garbage being given a platform on Jimmy Fallon’s show? Shame on you Jimmy.”
Griffin, a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, joined in on the backlash against Fallon’s interview with the fighter, who was buddying it up with the president at the White House last year.
“I do like Jimmy Fallon. I’ve met him a few times, and when I used to do his later show, he was always super nice to me, but I do think it was a bad call for him to have convicted rapist Conor McGregor on,” Griffin said.
McGregor was not convicted of rape. An Irish civil jury found him liable for sexual assault.
Griffin told viewers that Fallon’s interview with McGregor reminded her of when he had Trump on as a guest in 2016.
“I think it’s time we kind of make up our minds about who we’re going to cancel and who we’re not. Take it from the most canceled celebrity in history. Look it up, you know, as the kids say, do better,” she concluded.
The fighter faced another lawsuit accusing him of rape last year from a woman who identified herself as a Wall Street executive, alleging that McGregor sexually assaulted her in the bathroom at the Kaseya Center during the 2023 NBA finals in Miami.
That case was dropped and dismissed with prejudice after the plaintiff filed for its dismissal.