Jimmy Fallon returned to The Tonight Show on Monday night for the first time since his mother Gloria passed away. The host began the night with an emotional tribute to his mom, thanking his viewers for their support and telling his mother, “I’ll never stop trying to make you laugh. I love you.” As if there weren’t enough wet eyes in the house, Taylor Swift sang a new song off Reputation for a last-minute performance to help Jimmy cope with his loss.
Jimmy pays tribute to his mother Gloria pic.twitter.com/YVpZfeuI9A
— Fallon Tonight (@FallonTonight) November 14, 2017
In a Twitter thread, Tonight Show producer Mike DiCenzo explained the significance of Monday night’s show for both Jimmy and the entire crew, Refinery29 reports. He began, “A few words about tonight’s show. It was our first show back after Jimmy’s mom passed away…”
“It was a really tough day for our whole staff,” he wrote. “A lot of us knew his mom Gloria, and she was the best. The best. She loved the show, she loved all of us, and most of all, she loved Jimmy. They talked on the phone every day. As Jimmy said, she was his biggest fan.”
DiCenzo then drew attention to a story Jimmy told about his mother at the beginning of the show, sharing how she would squeeze his hand three times and say, “I love you.” Not only had the crew never heard that story before, but a line in Taylor’s “New Year’s Day” is literally, “Squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi.” The producer called it “a beautiful coincidence in a beautiful performance.” Cue the goosebumps.
She sang “New Year’s Day.” No one had heard it. Suddenly she sings the line, “Squeeze my hand 3 times in the back of the taxi.” I nearly gasped. Tears. I think everyone in the audience started sobbing.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
DiCenzo explained that Taylor’s appearance was a last-minute request. “First, a quick word about Taylor Swift. She was not scheduled to do our show today. But we wanted something special for this first show back, so we asked her on a complete whim, since she had been in town doing SNL. She said yes with zero hesitation… Whatever you think of Taylor, she did something beautiful for Jimmy and our show today, and we’re forever grateful.”
As badly as Taylor wants to transform her image, it’s clear that she is still very much the singing sweetheart the world has come to love. Even though her performance and Jimmy’s words are making me ugly-cry, the gesture is too sweet to not watch.