---
title: "Kathy Griffin Says She's Banned From The Tonight Show and Calls Out a McGregor Booking"
description: "Kathy Griffin says she believes she has been quietly frozen out of NBC's 'The Tonight Show' — a claim the comedian raised while criticizing the program for booking the mixed-martial-arts fighter Conor McGregor. A source told one outlet there is no formal ban."
category: "Entertainment"
category_url: https://herald.la/category/entertainment
author: "Simone Bishop"
published: 2026-07-02T02:59:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-02T02:59:00.000Z
canonical: https://herald.la/article/kathy-griffin-says-she-s-banned-from-the-tonight-show-and-calls-out-a-mcgregor-b
tags: ["Kathy Griffin", "Jimmy Fallon", "The Tonight Show", "NBC", "late night", "entertainment"]
---
# Kathy Griffin Says She's Banned From The Tonight Show and Calls Out a McGregor Booking

Kathy Griffin says she believes she has been quietly frozen out of NBC's 'The Tonight Show' — a claim the comedian raised while criticizing the program for booking the mixed-martial-arts fighter Conor McGregor. A source told one outlet there is no formal ban.

Kathy Griffin has never been shy about her feuds, and this week she added another to the list — with a late-night institution.

## What she said

In a video posted to Instagram, Griffin said she has not appeared on "The Tonight Show" since Jimmy Fallon was still hosting NBC's later program before 2014. "I have not done the Jimmy Fallon show since it was on at 12:30 Eastern and Pacific," she said, "so I guess I'm banned," [Variety reported](https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/kathy-griffin-banned-tonight-show-fallon-conor-mcgregor-1236799813/). She framed it as her own read of the situation rather than anything she'd been told: "When you're banned from a show... they don't usually tell you you're banned. They just can't seem to find room for you," she said, [according to Fox News Digital](https://www.foxnews.com/media/kathy-griffin-claims-gatekeepers-jimmy-fallon-tonight-show-banned-too-controversial).

A source told Fox News Digital there is no formal ban on Griffin at the show. Neither NBC nor "The Tonight Show" issued a public statement in response.

## The McGregor booking

Griffin said what prompted her to speak was the show's recent booking of the UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who was found liable for sexual assault in a 2024 civil trial and ordered to pay damages. "I think the Fallon folks made a mistake by having Conor McGregor on," she said, arguing it "sends yet another message to women and marginalized folks everywhere" — an opinion she attributed to herself. She also cited Fallon's widely discussed 2016 interview in which he tousled Donald Trump's hair as part of a pattern she said bothered her.

## The backdrop

Griffin's standing in parts of the television world has been shadowed since 2017, when she posed for a photograph holding a prop meant to resemble a bloodied likeness of Trump. The image drew a Secret Service inquiry and cost her professional relationships, and she has spoken often since about the fallout. Her latest comments, made on Instagram and her YouTube series, stop short of a formal accusation — "I guess I'm banned" is a characterization, not a documented policy. For now, the only thing confirmed is that she and the show have not crossed paths in a long time.

## Sources

- [Kathy Griffin thinks she's been banned from 'The Tonight Show'](https://deadline.com/2026/07/kathy-griffin-thinks-shes-banned-tonight-show-jimmy-fallon-1236972905/)
- [Kathy Griffin claims she was 'banned' from 'The Tonight Show'](https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/kathy-griffin-banned-tonight-show-fallon-conor-mcgregor-1236799813/)
- [Kathy Griffin claims gatekeepers at Fallon's 'Tonight Show' banned her](https://www.foxnews.com/media/kathy-griffin-claims-gatekeepers-jimmy-fallon-tonight-show-banned-too-controversial)