Trump Sends Mixed Messages About Iran War | Sting, Minnie Driver, Ruthie Rogers | Thursday, March 12

Summary

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Episode: Trump Sends Mixed Messages About Iran War | Sting, Minnie Driver, Ruthie Rogers
Date: March 13, 2026
Host: Jimmy Fallon
Guests: Sting, Minnie Driver, Ruthie Rogers

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Tonight Show blends trademark late-night satire on current events, lively celebrity interviews, and lighthearted sketches. Jimmy Fallon kicks off with a comedic take on the latest political headlines, including President Trump’s contradictory remarks about Iran, and segues into interviews with music legend Sting, actress Minnie Driver, and renowned chef Ruthie Rogers. The episode is filled with irreverent humor, personal anecdotes, and a warm, convivial energy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Monologue & Political Satire

• Trump’s Women's History Month Event and Iran Responses

  • Fallon jokes about Trump celebrating Women's History Month while ignoring his own history with women, and lampoons Trump’s unclear stance on Iran:

    "Trump was asked whether the US Involvement in Iran is a war or an excursion. And he said both. Yep, it's an excursion that's also a war. It's like going to Ikea with your spouse." ([01:07])

• Trump and the Oil Crisis

  • Fallon introduces a mock video of Trump addressing gas shortages:

    "I don't want anyone worrying about the oil crisis because I've tapped our reserves and can guarantee one thing. I have gas. In fact, they're saying I have more gas than anyone." ([02:14])

• Spring Break Sketches

  • Fallon presents a running gag about spring break commercials humorously attributed to political figures.

• Viral Trends & Tech

  • Fallon riffs on bizarre TikTok trends (making butter while running) and introduces a sketch on new iOS emojis featuring Tim Stinson, President of the Emoji Safety Commission, who humorously overreacts to “questionable” new emojis.

    "Can you say bone louder, Jimmy? Cause that's what the kids are thinking when they send this on their text phones." (Tim Stinson, [05:02])

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Interview: Sting

(Segment begins at approximately [07:33])

• Early New York Memories

  • Sting shares arriving in New York in 1979, playing at CBGB’s, and being charmed by the city’s spirit:

    "The waitress was about to give me another cup. I said, please, no, I can't afford another cup. She said, honey, this is New York City. The second cup is always free. I said, I'm moving here right now." (Sting, [08:53])

• Sting 3.0 Tour & Brooklyn Residency

  • Discussion of his worldwide tour and upcoming Brooklyn Paramount residency. Sting extols the venue:

    "It's been refurbished to Mecca. It really is gorgeous. I worked there last year and couldn't wait to get back." ([09:57])

  • When asked about his setlist:

    "I have nothing but hits." ([10:08])

• ‘The Last Ship’ at the Metropolitan Opera

  • Sting discusses adapting his musical for the opera stage, the significance of his hometown's shipyard, and the show's modern relevance:

    "The shipyard gave everyone their identity, including me. ...I think we're all in the same situation now with AI threatening our livelihood. We could all be replaced by a robot. Not you, of course, but I certainly could." ([11:31])

• Shaggy’s Role

  • Sting describes Shaggy as a spiritual and mischievous presence in the show.

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Interview: Minnie Driver

(Segment begins at approximately [12:24])

• The "Minaissance"

  • Jimmy highlights a headline and Minnie’s son’s quip about her career resurgence:

    "Mom, you’re having a minaissance." (Henry, Minnie’s son, [13:53])

• Oscar Night Stories

  • Minnie recounts a wardrobe malfunction at the Oscars, supported by her parents, and shares an anecdote where James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger helped recover all but four beads from her broken bracelet:

    "When I handed the broken pieces back, there were only four missing. What? They found every single bead bar." ([15:28])

• Connections to Music Legends

  • Minnie reminisces on crossing paths with Sting in a Barbados studio as a 12-year-old making tea and punch.
  • Memorable childhood encounters with Rod Stewart and Tony Bennett, including asking Bennett to keep the noise down as a child and later reminding him at his 90th birthday:

    "He did not have a sense of humor about it. He was like, I can't believe you told me to shut up. I was like, I know." ([18:08])

• Portraying Sarah in “The Faithful Women of the Bible”

  • Minnie discusses the gravity and pressure of embodying such a significant figure across religious texts:

    "You can barely please the people in your own house, let alone 2 billion people around the planet." ([19:15])

  • She highlights the underrepresentation of women (only 90 women named vs. 3,000 men) and the show’s focus on amplifying these stories.

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Interview: Ruthie Rogers

(Segment begins at approximately [20:39])

• River Cafe & Culinary Legacy

  • Ruthie and Jimmy discuss his admiration for her and the restaurant’s influence.
  • On the new book, Table 4 at the River Cafe:

    "It's kind of a pun on the word 4... Table 4 is one of the tables in the window. ...It's a pretty democratic space." ([22:56])

  • The book encompasses stories and memories from famous guests centered around food, including Tina Fey, Mel Brooks, and Sir Paul McCartney.

• Power of Food Stories

  • Ruthie explains that food fosters connection and comfort, often tied to personal history:

    "People eat out of hunger, of course. First of all, they eat out of sharing or expressing love. ...Comfort is something that food can give you." ([25:12])

• Origins of River Cafe

  • Started as a small lunch spot limited by local regulations but grew slowly and organically:

    "We started with six tables... restrictions are a good thing, aren’t they?" ([27:02])

• Her Podcast Origins

  • Ruthie’s podcast with celebrity guests started during the pandemic to keep the conversational spirit of restaurants alive.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Political Satire:
  "It's an excursion that's also a war. It's like going to Ikea with your spouse."
  — Jimmy Fallon ([01:07])

• Emoji Segment:
  "Can you say bone louder, Jimmy? Cause that's what the kids are thinking when they send this on their text phones."
  — Tim Stinson ([05:02])

• Sting’s NYC Story:
  "Honey, this is New York City. The second cup is always free."
  — Waitress to Sting ([08:53])

• Minnie’s Oscars Anecdote
  "James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger... found every single bead bar four."
  — Minnie Driver ([15:28])

• Minnie on Playing Sarah:
  "You can barely please the people in your own house, let alone 2 billion people around the planet."
  — Minnie Driver ([19:15])

• Ruthie on Food and Memories:
  "Everybody has a story, and this one is told through the lens of food."
  — Ruthie Rogers ([24:09])

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:07] – Jimmy’s monologue: Trump, Iran, and Ikea joke
• [04:41] – Emoji Safety Commission sketch
• [07:33] – Interview with Sting begins
• [10:34] – Discussion of 'The Last Ship' at the Met
• [12:24] – Interview with Minnie Driver begins
• [15:28] – Minnie’s Oscars beads story
• [16:17] – Sting & Minnie Driver reminisce about Barbados
• [19:15] – Minnie on playing Sarah in “Faithful Women of the Bible”
• [20:39] – Interview with Ruthie Rogers begins
• [22:56] – Ruthie explains ‘Table 4’
• [24:09] – Ruthie on food and memories
• [27:02] – Ruthie on River Cafe’s origins

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Episode Tone & Style

As always, Jimmy Fallon maintains an upbeat, playful, and warm tone. Banter with The Roots and guests is lighthearted and genuine. The political satire sets an irreverent stage while interviews organically blend humor, nostalgia, and insight.

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Closing Notes

This episode offers a quintessential Tonight Show mix: sharp, topical comedy; intimate interviews that draw out unexpected stories; and a celebration of both pop culture and personal connection. Whether you’re looking for laughs, inspiration, or warm anecdotes, this episode delivers memorable moments throughout.

Transcript

[Jimmy Fallon]

From Studio 6B in Rockefeller center in the heart of New York City, it's the Tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Can I join Jimmy's guest sing Minnie Driver Ruthie Robinson. Featuring the legendary Ruth Crew 226 5. And now, here he is, Jimmy Bellad. Man. Come on. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Come on. Thank you very much.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Thank you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Enjoy yourself, everybody.

Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to the Tonight Show.

This is it. You're here.

Good night. Well, guys, let's get to some news. Today at the White House, President Trump hosted an event to celebrate Women's History Month. Yep. They discussed everything except Trump's history with women. Yeah. An hour into the event, Trump panicked because he didn't have an exit strategy for this either. He's like, what? Speaking of the war, after getting mixed messages, Trump was asked whether the US Involvement in Iran is a war or an excursion. And he said both. Yep, it's an excursion that's also a war. It's like going to Ikea with your spouse. It's like, okay.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Really?

[Jimmy Fallon]

You buy it.

You can't afford that.

Meanwhile, today, Iran's new Supreme Leader issued his first public comments. And weirdly, they were all about Donna Kelce's home renovations.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Wow.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Well, guys, Trump announced that due to the oil shortage and high gas prices, he's tapping into our strategic reserves. Yeah. In fact, he just put out a video about it. Did you see this?

[Sting]

Watch this.

[Donald Trump (impression or clip)]

This is your president. And I don't want anyone worrying about the oil crisis because I've tapped our reserves and can guarantee one thing. I have gas. In fact, they're saying I have more gas than anyone. No matter the situation. I have gas. In a quiet meeting, gas during a speech, gas sleep. That's what I have the most.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Gas.

[Donald Trump (impression or clip)]

And good news for all you tree huggers. My gas also creates incredible wind power. So come on, America, follow me and we'll let it rip.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Did you guys see this? Yesterday, Trump gave a speech in Kentucky, and at one point, he brought Jake stage. And when Jake realized Trump is 79 years old, he challenged him to a boxing match.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Come on.

[Jimmy Fallon]

While this is going viral, North Korean state media released a photo of Kim Jong Un test firing a handgun. Look at this. There he is. Kim Jong Wik. Well, guys, spring break is in full swing. But if you still haven't booked that perfect trip, you're in luck because a lot of popular destinations are rolling out new commercials to win you over. Take a look at this one if you want to catch up on Sleep, to get tan and to play golf. Then check out President Trump on a workday. Hey. No, no, no, no. Come on.

[Sting]

Hey.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Let's release the real spring break ad. Please. Come on. If you want pina coladas, mai tais,

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

and spicy margaritas, then check out Pete

[Jimmy Fallon]

Hegseth on a workday.

Hey, hey.

[Sting]

No, no, no, no.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Come on, really, it's. Try this one more time. Please play the real spring break commercial. If you want no shirts, no shoes,

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

no problems, Then check out RFK Jr. On a workday.

[Jimmy Fallon]

All right, forget it.

We'll get it. We'll do it next week. I don't care. We got time. Come on. It's the right video. I can't believe that. Can't believe it. Hey, have you guys heard about this? There's a new TikTok trend where runners are taking Ziploc bags filled with heavy cream and salt on. On their runs and making butter. You thought your co worker who ran a marathon was annoying. Wait until you meet a guy who churns butter while running. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the old days when people were just slapping each other with tortillas. Well, get this. Apple is introducing eight new emojis in the latest iOS update. Here to talk about these new emojis is the president of the Emoji Safety Commission, Tim Stinson. Welcome to the show, Tim.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Thank you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Thank you.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Thank you for having me on, Jimmy. Look, these new. These emojis are out, and I am horrified.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Really? Why? They seem harmless.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Are you kidding? These emojis are disgusting. I mean, you won't even be able to show them on tv.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I think you can. I mean, here's the first one. Here, look. It's just a trombone.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Oh. Oh, okay. Can you say bone louder, Jimmy? Cause that's what the kids are thinking when they send this on their text phones. All the blowing and the pulling, the tugging. You gotta blur it. You gotta blur that, Jimmy.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, we might have to blur that. Look, how about. How about this one?

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Oh, Bigfoot. Are you kidding me?

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

What?

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

What do they say about big feet, Jimmy?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Big shoes?

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Nope. No, no, no. Too late. Everyone's already thinking about it now, so you gotta blur it. Blur it. Come on.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Okay, how about this one?

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Oh.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Oh, oh.

[Jimmy Fallon]

What? No, this looks just like a rock to me.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Sure, sure. What rhymes with rock, starts with a C?

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Hmm.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Come on, dude.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Yep.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Yeah. Bingo. Blur it.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Blur it.

Stop yelling. Blur it. What's going. Who are you yelling? Who are you yelling, dude? How about these right Here, these are.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Nope. Nuh, nuh. No. No. Booty and pole dancer.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No, pole dancer is just a regular dancer.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Oh, you don't know her story. Jimmy, double blur it. Double blur.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Okay. I think. I think you're the one that's making these dirty. Tim, you just really needed to calm down.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

No, no, no, no, no, no. As the president of the Emoji Safety Commission, I'm only getting started. You think I'm going soft on this, buddy? I'm only getting harder,

[Jimmy Fallon]

Tim.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Oh my God.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, blur me.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Blur me.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Okay, okay. Tim Stinson.

Every Tim Stinson, everybody.

It's not a trombone. It's not a trombone.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Jimmy.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Don't let him fool you. Tim Stinson.

Oh my God. Trombone. Guys, I read about a group of Girl Scouts who started selling cookies outside a weed dispensary. And today they just earned their billionaire merit badge.

There you go.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

That's right. Stick around.

[Jimmy Fallon]

We'll be right back with Sing, Everybody Sing.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

My lifetime took automatic time Took a toll on me Gotta hold on.

[Jimmy Fallon]

This Guest is a 17 time Grammy

winning music icon who has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Wow.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I love this dude. His musical the Last Ship is coming to the metropolitan opera beginning June 9th. Please welcome Sting.

Feel the Love. Feel the love with Sting.

Oh, I love you, bud. Welcome back to the show. Sting. This. You should feel like home here. You've been here a bunch of times. Do you remember. Do you remember doing Warm Up Here one night?

[Sting]

Yeah, I do.

[Jimmy Fallon]

One night. This is a true story. We were doing late night, maybe. Yeah, late night.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Late night.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And I forget who the guests were, even to be honest. We were just getting ready for the show and all of a sudden I heard someone that sounded like Sting warming up the audience. I came out, it was you and the Roots singing Every Breath youh Take. And the audience was like, what's going on? And then you left.

[Sting]

That was my audition.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Did you get the part?

[Sting]

No, I didn't.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Ah. I'm so sorry. I love having you here. I know you're a New Yorker. You've been in New York City a long time now.

[Sting]

Since 1979.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Wow.

[Sting]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

What do you remember when you first came here? What was your first impression of the.

[Sting]

Oh, I. I played a gig at CBGB's. I did three nights at three, three sets of CBD. I just landed at JFK about six in the evening. And after the second set it was like three in the morning. But for me it was. Yeah, beyond. So I went for a cup of coffee down the street to Phoebe's on the Bowery. And I only had enough money for one cup of coffee. I was finishing my coffee and the waitress was about to give me another cup. I said, please, no, I can't afford another cup. She said, honey, this is New York City. The second cup is always free. I said, I'm moving here right now.

[Jimmy Fallon]

The second cup is always free. I love that.

[Sting]

It's true, right?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, it is. You're also back on Tour now. Sting 3.0 tour. Congratulations, by the way. It's around the world, it's worldwide. You're going to Australia. I saw. But then you're doing something very cool here. You're coming back to the North American dates. You're doing a six night residency at the Brooklyn Paramount. Let's go.

Come on. Beautiful.

[Sting]

It's a beautiful theater.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I've never been.

[Sting]

It's been refurbished to Mecca. It really is gorgeous. I worked there last year and couldn't wait to get back.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Wow.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And what are you doing? Are you doing all the hits? You're doing new stuff? What are you doing?

[Sting]

I have nothing but hits.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

I know.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, everybody. Take care, everybody.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

You're back.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I could. Of course you do. I could sing every single one. I love you so much. I do want to talk about your newest hit, the Last Ship. Congratulations on this. This is a big deal. You came on the show when this is on Broadway and now you're going to the Metropolitan Opera. You're taking it to the opera?

[Sting]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Did you ever see it as playing at the opera?

[Sting]

Well, you know, it's about a shipyard. I come from a shipyard town in the north of England. And a shipyard I've ever been has an operatic scale. So the only place you can really reproduce a ship is on that stage in the Metropolitan Opera. So we've done that.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And your pal Shaggy is co starring with you in this play. I mean, how fun.

[Sting]

He's playing a sort of spiritual character. Some people can see him, some people can't. But he brings such a twinkle. Has a twinkle in his eye and such mischief. He's wonderful.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I love what the idea of the Last ship is. And I feel like in a weird way it's a little more relevant now than it's ever been.

[Sting]

It's about my community that the shipyard was closed by the government. And the shipyard gave everyone their identity, including me. So when it was gone, there was nothing to do. So I think we're all in the same situation now with AI threatening our livelihood. We could all be replaced by a robot. Not you, of course, but I certainly could.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Thank you very much.

[Sting]

I feel that threat is there. That threat is still there. So I think people will relate to how we as a community deal with it.

[Jimmy Fallon]

It's beautiful, the songs are fantastic and it's mind blowing. You guys are going to love it and fall in love with it. Thank you for doing this and always showing up. You're the greatest.

We'll be right back aboard Tonight show figure out. Check it out, yo.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

The answer's never been clean. I'm coming for any place that's never been clean. And speaking for every face that's never been seen,

[Jimmy Fallon]

our next guest is an Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor who you can see in the new event series the Faithful Women of the Bible, premiering March 22 at 8pm on Fox and airing the next day on Hulu. Everyone please welcome Minnie Dravo.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Oh my.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome back to the show, Mini Driver.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Hello. Hello.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I love having you here.

[Minnie Driver]

I'm happy to be here. Thank you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I saw a headline that I wanted to show you and I kind of agree. It said Minnie Driver is having her minaissance. Yes, minaissance. It's happening her. Are you having your minaissance?

[Minnie Driver]

Yeah, I mean, I think so.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Minnie Driver]

My son coined it. I was doing lots of jobs away from home playing, you know, sort of a homicidal doctor and then a grifting princess on Emily in Paris. And then I had this one person show in London which was this beautiful, amazing.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You did one person?

[Minnie Driver]

It was called Every brilliant thing and it's a, it was a sensational show. And Henry, when he finally caught up with me, he was like, my son sounds like a bookie. He's like, I never see you anymore.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I never see you anymore.

I never see you no more.

I don't see you anymore.

[Minnie Driver]

Like, where do you live? Like, why don't I see you anymore? And I was like, well, you know, I have been working to sort of keep the lights on and everything. He was like, mom, I gotta say,

[Jimmy Fallon]

man, mom, you're having a minaissance.

[Minnie Driver]

And I was like, I am having a minaissance.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, I love you, honey.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Yes.

[Minnie Driver]

It was really slow.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You are having a minascence. You really are top 10 Netflix. Every time I see you, I know it's good. Congrats. Oh, it's fantastic.

[Sting]

Thank you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Keep going, keep going, keep going.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Great.

[Minnie Driver]

I love it.

[Jimmy Fallon]

This is awards season. The Oscars are coming up this weekend. I Have a photo of you at the Oscars here, looking stunning.

[Minnie Driver]

Oh, golly.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Minnie Driver]

That's my.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, that's my mama.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Is that your mom?

[Minnie Driver]

That's my mom.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's your mom.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Adorable.

[Minnie Driver]

I'm looking at my dad because that picture was taken as my dress fell off and I'm clutching that stole around me to, you know, hide what I had for breakfast.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Really? It was.

[Minnie Driver]

And I'm looking and I'm looking at my dad, and my dad was just doing this. He was like, he's smiling. Just keep smiling.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Hold it together.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Hold it together. Rooting you on like he's okay. It's going to be okay, honey. Did the rest of the night go smoothly?

[Minnie Driver]

I mean, the rest of the night was when Robin Williams won. I had an incredibly beautiful bracelet on that was made up of hundreds of ruby beads. And as I was clapping for Robin, it bust. And so this red carpet on the aisles of the theater, and I'm not kidding you, Jim Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger got down on their hands and knees and they found. I mean, there were hundreds of them. When I handed the broken pieces back, there were only four missing. What? They found every single bead bar.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Four.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No. James Cameron and James Cameron and Armshaw. Oh, my God.

We gotta look at the bead. We gotta find the beads.

We gotta find on the roof. We got to find the beads.

We got to find the beads.

We got to find the beads. Yeah.

[Minnie Driver]

I was gonna try and do a Jim Cameron impression, but I don't really.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, exactly.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

I just.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I'm the king of the world. Yeah, exactly. The king of the beans.

We had Sting on earlier. Have you ever crossed paths with Sting? Do you know each other?

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

I have.

[Minnie Driver]

I have.

[Jimmy Fallon]

He's cool.

[Minnie Driver]

He's honestly one of the most iconic, coolest people in the world. I'm friends with his beautiful daughter Mickey. And weirdly, because I grew up in the Caribbean, Sting made his seminal and beautiful record, the Dream of the Blue Turtle at Eddie Grant's studio in Barbados. And I worked in that studio when I was, like, 12.

[Sting]

No.

[Minnie Driver]

And I was, like, making the tea and making the rum punch and putting on extra nutmeg.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And you ended up making. He made one of the best albums ever.

[Minnie Driver]

Ever. And he was.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's because of Minnie Driver, I think.

[Minnie Driver]

He was so kind to me.

[Jimmy Fallon]

He was having a minaissance.

[Minnie Driver]

He was having his own.

[Jimmy Fallon]

A little mini.

[Minnie Driver]

It was a mini. Minis.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Mini Minaise. Yeah. You were a kid. Any other rock and roll run inside?

[Minnie Driver]

Um, yeah. So what I'm probably not supposed to say, but it is actually true. But so Rod Stewart was in a lift in the building that we had an apartment in because he was having an affair with the lady who lived upstairs. And. But I mean, it was all very public knowledge, like, you know, to everybody. I'm not telling you anything that you couldn't look up on the old Wikipedia.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Okay, all right.

[Minnie Driver]

Anyway, he gets in the. He gets in the lift, as we say in the uk. And I'm probably four and my nanny, who I'm with, is a mad Rod Stewart fan. And I said, I was like, you smell very funny.

[Donald Trump (impression or clip)]

And a four year old.

[Minnie Driver]

A four year old. To Rod Stewart. And Rod Stewart smiled and was apparently very charming to both the nanny and to me.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Of course he is. He's Rod Stewart.

[Minnie Driver]

But then I moved on to Tony Bennett, who was really good friends of a kid who was my great friend at school. And I was having a sleepover when I was six at her house.

[Jimmy Fallon]

These are legends.

[Minnie Driver]

And Tony Bennett was. They were having like a musicale night. They had a grand piano in their living room. They had these great sliding doors and he was belting it out beautifully. But apparently, I mean, not apparently I did because I remember it. I went and like it was midnight and I opened the sliding doors and I was like, could you keep it down? Were trying to sleep.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Oh, my God.

[Minnie Driver]

Making a lot of noise.

[Jimmy Fallon]

To Tony Bennett.

[Minnie Driver]

To Tony Bennett.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, my gosh, you were trouble.

[Minnie Driver]

I reminded Tony of this. I hosted his 90th birthday party many years later and I reminded him of this story and he did not have a sense of humor about it. He was like, I can't believe you told me to shut up. I was like, I know. I can't believe I told you to shut up either.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, of course. You're a legend.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Oh, you're welcome.

[Minnie Driver]

You're a total legend.

[Sting]

Come on.

[Minnie Driver]

So, yeah, I tell musicians, I tell musicians stuff. Quest, I love you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Wow, he gets a nice one. Let's talk about your new series. Okay. This event, the Women of the Bible. You're playing Sarah. Are you nervous when you go into something this big and this different?

[Minnie Driver]

Yes, I think I'm playing a character who. She's in three of the most ancient texts. She appears in the Torah, in the Bible and in the Quran. She's a 5,000-year-old character. There are, you know, 2 billion people on this planet who have a very particular idea about this character of Sarah. And so I was absolutely terrified taking that on because you definitely, you can barely Please, the people in your own house. Let alone 2 billion. 2 billion people around the planet.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Minnie Driver]

However, I believe in the sovereignty of the way people pass. Amazing characters. And I believe in the fundamental humanity of this woman who is super relatable, amazingly strong. If you think about in the Bible, I think there are 143 women and only 90 or so of them have names and there are over 3,000 men. So there's never been a better time for these women to have an amplification of their voice and their stories. And this show is really from the purview of the matriarchs of these. Of Sarah and Rachel and Leah and Rebecca and Hagar.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Should we set it up and.

[Minnie Driver]

Yeah. So I'm yelling at God. He has promised me a child and I am older and not able to have a child. And I also think I'm yelling at him because he talks to my husband and not me.

[Jimmy Fallon]

So you're picturing Tony Bennett. You were yelling.

[Minnie Driver]

Essentially, I'm just like, why do you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Minnie Driver, everyone. The Faithful Women of The Bible premieres March 22 at 8pm on Fox and airs the next day on Hulu. More Tonight show after the break.

[Sting]

Stick around.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Minnie Driver, the bath.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Come on. White dubs of my doorstep. What comes around goes around Like a vortex competition. I'm all for it. 65. Look at me. I'm not tunnel. I don't sleep.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Our next guest is a legendary chef and co founder of the Michelin star restaurant, the River Cafe. Her new book, Table 4 at the River Conversations about Food and Life is available this Tuesday. Please welcome Ruthie Rogers.

I'm so happy to get you here.

Thank you for doing this.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Nice to be here.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Ruthie.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I had to beg you to be here. I'm the biggest fan. I love you so much.

[Ruthie Rogers]

I love you. Should we just stop here?

[Jimmy Fallon]

We just stop here.

[Ruthie Rogers]

We're done.

[Sting]

We have.

[Jimmy Fallon]

We have an upstate New York connection. We have a London connection.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Food connection. You know, you really know in the restaurant, when people come in, who are the food lovers? I mean, and you are one of them. You go and see the chefs first. You look at the menu. You talk about everything. You are a food person.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No, but you're so personable and helpful and nice and happy. You talk to everybody. You treat everyone like a million dollars. And I went in and I just was like, I'm a fan. And you're like, no, I know you, Jimmy. And you kind of knew who I was, but not really. But I think Lauren introduced us and I was like, I'm such a fan. You're like, well, come see the kitchen. Come meet the chef. Come. Do you want to see the oven?

[Ruthie Rogers]

All you want to do is sit down and eat, probably.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No, no, I wanted to meet you. But look, the oven is right out.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Yeah, that's our wood oven.

[Jimmy Fallon]

So you can see where all the food gets done. And I'm telling you, this menu, you can close your eyes and just point to anything, and it's the greatest thing you've ever had in your life. Oh, you're so sweet, and you make it so fun. And I was telling you, years ago, when I was in college, I started collecting cookbooks. This is when no one really. There wasn't celebrity chefs. No one really had that many cookbooks. I thought maybe I could complete the full collection of just every cookbook. But I started just getting Joy of Cooking, blah, blah, blah. And someone said, you have to get the River Cafe, the London River Cafe. Ruthie Rogers. That's the coolest cookbook out there. And I brought a. This is the one I had. It's like a mirror, and it's just the coolest cover.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Can you see yourself?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, I'm looking at myself right now. We look fantastic. Yeah, we look great.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And so here, it's kind of full circle that I'm having you here. And this is your book right here, which is available this week, Table 4 at the River Cafe. What is table four? Do I know?

[Ruthie Rogers]

Well, it's kind of a pun on the word 4. The River Cafe has, you know, tables have numbers so waiters can find it. Table 4 is one of the tables in the window.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, yeah.

[Ruthie Rogers]

And Michael Caine used to love.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That was his spot, Table four.

[Ruthie Rogers]

But, you know, there's no good section or bad section. It's a pretty democratic space. But it was a pun on the word for. So it's for Jimmy Fallon or for Jake Gyllenhaal or for somebody we don't even know.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Table four.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Also table four.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Ah, brilliant. See? Clever. Always clever.

[Ruthie Rogers]

It's a book.

[Jimmy Fallon]

It's a great book. It's Conversations with Legends. Super funny people. By the way, Tina Fey is in here.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Yeah, Tina's in there.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Love Tina.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Liz Lemon.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Liz Lemon.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Of course, Liz Lemon.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Mel Brooks. Mel Brooks actually has a quote on the back, but I'm just going to go down quickly. Francis Ford Coppola, you have. I just want J.J. abrams, by the way, who love Jamie Oliver, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nancy Pelosi. But Mel Brooks quote was on the back, which made me laugh. It says When I see you, I get hungry. And I think that's. People probably think that when they.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Well, the thing about the guests is that what this book is, it's really. It's memories. It's your memories. It's stories. I think everybody has a story, and this one is told through the lens of food. And so if I went to, for instance, Paul McCartney and said, can we talk about the Beatles? He might say, been there, done that, or David Beckham about, you know, being a footballer, Nancy Pelosi being speaker of the house. But if you said, we're just going to talk about food, who cooked? Did your mother cook? Did your father? Did you go to restaurants when you left home, did you have a flat? Did you ever try to seduce somebody through food? You know, food is a. It's a connection. And what about you? Do you remember we did one.

[Sting]

We did.

[Jimmy Fallon]

When we talked about your podcast, your great podcast.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Yeah, we did one together. Jimmy was amazing because we sang, we talked. You talked about your grandmother lived in the garden, right?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yes, we had a tomato plant garden. You remember that?

[Ruthie Rogers]

Yeah, I do.

[Sting]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

We talked all that stuff. But I love that when you go, yeah, you just have a conversation. You go like, Austin Butler, you asked him, what's his comfort food, anything in the world, what could we make? And he says, peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

[Ruthie Rogers]

Peanut butter and jelly. But, you know, there was a story about that, though, because his mother was very ill and she passed away when he was about 22, and he used to come home every lunchtime and they would have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. So, you know, that was a memory. And then other people's comfort food might come from a time that their, you know, their grandmother took care of them. It might come from a time when they were celebrating. People eat out of hunger, of course. First of all, they eat out of sharing or expressing love. There are so many reasons why people cook and eat. And comfort is something that food can give you. It does give you comfort.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Where did the idea for the podcast come from? Just because. Well, so Percival and the restaurant.

[Ruthie Rogers]

It really started in the pandemic, because going to a restaurant, if you'd asked me what was important in a city, I might say hospitals or parks or theaters or opera houses or concert halls, but schools. But I think when we didn't have restaurants, people really missed them. It was, there are people who ate in restaurants. We thought, how can we connect? Because connecting is so important. It's what you do and what I do. And so we thought maybe just read a Recipe. Every day, just read a recipe. But then a friend, Graydon Carter, said to me, ruth, you have to have more than that. You have to segue into a story. And so, you know, those are the questions we asked. And when you ask people like Tina Feyd, like Michael Caine, Ian McKellen, you know, to tell us about their memories, then it comes the story we had. When we did Elton John, the woman who works with him for 25 years said, I've sat through so many interviews and I never knew that, you know, when he was growing up, his grandmother lived next door and they would pod peas together every night. You know, so things come out.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You know, when River Cafe first came out, there was a review that said, I'm going to tell you about a restaurant that you can't go to.

[Minnie Driver]

I agree.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Can you describe why is that?

[Ruthie Rogers]

Well, I was living in Paris. My husband, Richard Rogers, with Renzo Piano, did the Pompidou Center. And when we came back, he didn't want to go into a building in the city or skyscraper. He wanted to make a community. He was Italian. He always thought the best conversations came out for work over food, over a table. So we wanted to set up a little cafe in this place where we. The warehouses we found that you came to on the Thames. And I just said, you know what? Maybe I'll do it. And so my, you know, Rose Gray, who'd worked with Keith McNally here, we just started with six tables. And the reason people couldn't go to it is that the planners, it was a very, you know, neighborhood of houses, were really worried about the noise, and so they only let us open at lunch. But in a way, you know, restrictions are a good thing, aren't they?

[Jimmy Fallon]

You know, rules are meant to be broken.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Yeah.

[Ruthie Rogers]

And also met. We were two inexperienced chefs and restaurateurs. So we started small. We started with lunchtime, then we got to dinner, then we got to the

[Jimmy Fallon]

weekend you learned and you.

[Ruthie Rogers]

And then now we have, you know,

[Jimmy Fallon]

became who you are. And we've had some ragers at the restaurant.

[Ruthie Rogers]

We had some fun, haven't we?

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Yes.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Parties.

The one and only Ruthie rogers, everybody. Table 4. At the River Cafe, conversations about food and life is available everywhere this Tuesday. We'll be right back, everybody.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Nine by nine, chapter after chapter. Like if we on the street I got a raptor, no control so when I step in to play song Hats are off, hands are up in the air going back and forth

[Jimmy Fallon]

My thanks. The mini driver, Ruthie Rogers, Sting and the Roots right there from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for watching. Good night, everybody.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Thank you. Got involved.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Gotta get involved.

[The Roots (possibly Questlove or other band members)]

Get that. Get involved. Get into it. Do it. Yes. You gotta hold up. And you said to your city, just let go. I'm the best.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's right, Ton.

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Thanks for listening to the Tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon. Don't forget to subscribe to get the

[Jimmy Fallon]

latest episodes weekday mornings. Wherever you get your podcasts, Watch the

[Tim Stinson (Emoji Safety Commission President)]

Tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Weeknights on NBC and streaming on Peacock.