So, what happens when Jimmy Fallon and Joe La Puma of Complex come together to go sneaker shopping? Loads of fun and some amusing anecdotes from the host of the popular NBC show! Did you know that Jimmy was dissed by an employee of Barneys’ back in the day? Or that, it was Hasan Minhaj who got him hooked to Air Jordan 1s? These are just two of the many fun facts that were revealed as the two men went shopping at the Fight Club in NYC.
If you have been diligently tuning into NBC every night for ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,’ you will know that the talk show host is known for his funny bones. And, regardless of whether you are a fan of the show, watching this fun interview with Joe will crack you up for sure.
So, what did the Emmy and Grammy award-winning host of the hugely popular talk show reveal to the fans during his interview? Let’s get to know more about it!
Table of Contents
The beginning of Jimmy’s love for sneakers
The interaction starts with Joe pointing out Jimmy’s love for sneakers, as, since the early 2000s, when Jimmy Fallon was on Saturday Night Live, he was spotted frequently wearing his favorite pairs.
Jimmy revealed that he has loved wearing sneakers for the longest time now. And, back when he used to come for shopping at the original Fight Club, it did not even look the way it does now. He knew that the best pairs would not even be out on the shelves, but rather be behind the counter from where he used to get those for himself.
Jimmy was also quite candid about how overpriced the shoes are at Fight Club. It’s even worse than the prices go up with the sizes!
The Nicole Kidman story
The Nicole Kidman incident happened back in the day when Jimmy was a bachelor living in New York City. Apparently, Nicole had wanted to come over to Jimmy’s apartment, which got him totally flabbergasted because his apartment only had “video games and sneakers.” Surely, most of the bachelors anywhere in the world can relate to Jimmy Fallon at this point!
So, his friend called him up, and told him to stash those sneakers and Nintendo games somewhere in the closet, and to go and get some Brie and crackers. Now, at this point, Jimmy didn’t even know what Brie was (for those of you who feel the same as him, Brie is a kind of soft cheese made from cow milk). So, he finally rushed to the Deli, got the cheese, and arranged everything in the best possible way he could.
The Barneys’ episode
When you look at Jimmy Fallon today, would you believe that the man was once dissed by an employee of Barneys? Well, that’s what happened, and it, in fact, gave rise to that funny skit he made on SNL with Sean Hayes and Will Ferrell. Go search it on YouTube if you haven’t watched it ever!
So, Jimmy was already on SNL during that time, he had the money, and he wanted to get a nice suit for himself. He walked into Barneys’ and asked an employee to show him some suits. To this, the employee went on asking Jimmy to go to the third floor because he hinted that all these high-end clothing was not for him.
Those elitist employees of downtown stores surely lived up to their reputation. And, now you know what the skit hinted at by naming the store “Jeffrey’s”!
Jimmy’s latest addition to his sneaker collection
Joe let the viewers know that Jimmy had, in fact, been to this same store a couple of days back to add a new pair of sneakers to his collection. He was talking about Nike’s new HyperAdapt EARL sneakers that Jimmy had also brought with him to the set that day.
These cool sneakers are self-lacing, and EARL is the acronym for Electric Adaptable Reaction Lacing. So, you just need to slip on these shoes, and they lace automatically around your feet, as Jimmy showed the viewers on the show. He also made a quick quip about how his phone was on a three percent battery charge, while his sneakers were on thirty-five percent!
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The kiss with Michael Jordan
Jimmy mentioned his super awkward run-in with Michael Jordan at a golf charity event. So, they were all with their group of friends at the event, and they had gone to a night club at the end of it. A friend of Jimmy’s had introduced him to Jordan at the club. And, as Jimmy leaned in to kiss Jordan’s cheeks, and he did the same, the kiss ended up landing at Jordan’s lips!
It’s no surprise that Jimmy was almost waiting to be punched on the face by the basketball star after the incident. But, Jordan played it cool by saying, “it is okay.” Jimmy’s parting shot at this story? He said Jordan’s a great kisser!
Hasan Minhaj upped Jimmy’s sneaker game
Hasan Minhaj, Jimmy mentioned, has been the one to change his sneaker game recently. So, Minhaj told Jimmy at his talk show that he needs to take his sneaker game up a notch. The discussion ended at Minhaj promising to send him a pair next time.
Jimmy didn’t expect to actually see a box of brand new sneakers land at his doorstep the next day. Minhaj had sent him the red and black Air Jordan 1s, and he loves that pair so much now. He mentioned that opening the box made him feel like that kid Ryan on YouTube, who unboxes toys! Of course, anyone would be that giddy if they got a cool new pair of sneakers gifted to them first thing in the morning!
So, those were the highlights of Joe La Puma’s interview with Jimmy Fallon. I know they were quite surprising for you as they were for me too. Who knew Jimmy had such a long and illustrated history with sneakers and shopping?
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