McNally will be on The Tonight Show on Monday. Alamy Stock Photo
The Tonight Show
The comedian has defended her upcoming appearance on the US talk show, with a number of Irish celebrities backing her.
COMEDIAN JOANNE MCNALLY has hit back at criticism of her upcoming appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, after some social media users questioned her decision to appear on the programme following its previous interview with Conor McGregor.
McNally is set to perform stand-up on the popular US talk show on Monday, 19 October.
Announcing the news on Instagram, McNally wrote: “AMERICA!?” before promising not to use her appearance to ”call gym men whores and slags cos they have the steroid induced neck to expose their slag ankles and socially defunct gym nipples”.
The remark was a reference to US comedian Shane Gillis’s Saturday Night Live monologue last week, in which he referred to women who go to the gym as “whores”.
Some social media users criticised McNally’s decision to appear on the Tonight Show, pointing to Fallon’s previous interview with McGregor in June.
Fallon’s interview with McGregor, who was found liable for assaulting Nikita Hand in a civil trial in November 2024, was widely criticised for being “soft” on the former UFC fighter.
Responding to the criticism, McNally shared a screenshot of comments questioning her decision to accept the booking.
“Imagine expecting me to turn down an opportunity to do Jimmy Fallon [because] of Conor mc fucking Gregor, surely the man has ruined enough women’s lives,” McNally wrote.
In the caption accompanying the post, she added: “Imagine every single woman was expected to deplatform/silence/shrink herself from all and any public platform or professional opportunity cos it had previously had a bad man on it … he’s ruined enough women’s lives… I’ll be taking the opportunity.”
McNally received lots of support for her response, including a number of encouraging comments from fellow Irish celebrities.
“If women had to boycott all the shows which have platformed misogynists, we’d never be on ANYTHING,” author Marian Keyes commented.
“Step into that spotlight, Joanne, you’ve EARNED it.”
Presenter Roz Purcell also defended McNally’s appearance on the US talk show.
“The crazy expectation that a woman should sacrifice her own hard-earned career opportunities because of the actions of a man is absolute madness. What backward thinking,” she wrote.
“Time to show them the absolute best of us. G’wan Joanne.”
Television presenter Laura Whitmore also backed McNally, commenting: “Finally the booking we all want to see represent us.”
McNally, who co-hosts the popular My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast with Vogue Williams and is currently starring in the BBC series The Celebrity Traitors, will appear on Monday’s programme alongside actor Chris Pratt and television presenter Andy Cohen.