Trump Tears Down White House Wing to Make Room for $200M Ballroom as Government Shutdown Persists | Jacob Elordi, Charlie Puth, Allen Iverson | Tuesday, October 21

Summary

---

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Episode: Trump Tears Down White House Wing to Make Room for $200M Ballroom as Government Shutdown Persists
Air Date: October 22, 2025
Guests: Jacob Elordi, Charlie Puth, Allen Iverson

---

Overview

This episode features Jimmy Fallon's trademark blend of sharp political satire and celebrity interviews, centered on current headlines—especially Donald Trump's White House renovations amid a government shutdown. Jimmy welcomes actor Jacob Elordi (discussing his starring role in "Frankenstein"), singer-songwriter Charlie Puth (who announces his upcoming fatherhood and album), and NBA legend Allen Iverson (reflecting candidly on his career and new documentary).

---

Monologue Highlights & Political Satire

(00:05–06:10)

• NBA Returns to NBC: Jimmy kicks off by celebrating the NBA’s return to NBC after 20 years, poking fun at the network’s 90s focus on Chicago and LeBron James' absence from the season opener.
• Team Name Confusion Bit: A quick, comedic rundown of NBA team names ensues, climaxing with playful confusion over the “Utah Jazz.”
• Trump & The White House:
  • Jimmy jokes about President Trump demolishing the White House East Wing for a $200 million ballroom during the ongoing government shutdown.
  • Fallon quips, “For Trump, knocking down walls is easy. It's building them that's hard.” (04:37)
  • On Trump’s lunch with Senate Republicans: “The lunch became a picnic when they realized there were no walls. Even worse, at the end of the lunch, Trump spun around his iPad and made everyone leave him a tip. And he goes, 30% is standard.” (04:49)

Notable Quotes

• “Today, when asked who his favorite NBA team is, Trump said, Without question, it's the Denver McNuggets.” – Jimmy Fallon (02:23)
• “For Trump, knocking down walls is easy. It's building them that's hard.” – Jimmy Fallon (04:37)

---

Interview: Jacob Elordi

(06:46–13:56)

Euphoria & Secrecy

• Jacob gives a cryptic teaser for the next season of "Euphoria," stating:
  • “I think a good phrase, I guess, for my season is white fritillaries. Do with that what you will.” (08:11)

"Frankenstein" Transformation

• Discusses starring as the Creature in Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein":

  • All effects were practical, with makeup sessions of up to 11 hours—allowing Jacob to deeply immerse in the role.
  • He describes preparing physically and emotionally, referencing Butoh (a Japanese dance of death) for movement inspiration.

• On working with del Toro:

  • “To this day, that's why he's like, he's the greatest filmmaker alive.” (12:23)
  • “When you meet an artist of that magnitude... you just have to let them know how important their work is.” (12:39)

Film's Themes

• Elordi describes "Frankenstein" as “a film about being human and about how we're all misunderstood and how we misunderstand ourselves... The hope is with the film at the end, we can all maybe understand each other a little bit better.” (13:06–13:31)

Review Highlights

• Fallon reads glowing reviews for Elordi’s performance, including:
  • "Jacob Elordi delivers career best performance in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein" – Newsweek
  • "Jacob Elordi is the soul of a gorgeous Guillermo del Toro monster movie." – Indiewire

---

Interview: Charlie Puth

(14:22–19:17)

New Single & Personal News

• Charlie promotes his single "Changes" and, in a heartfelt moment, announces he and his wife are expecting their first child in March:
  • “Yeah, we'll be. We're expecting a baby in March.” (15:17)

Musical Craft & Album

• Describes "Changes" as Peter Gabriel and Bruce Hornsby-inspired, especially highlighting the use of a Yamaha CP70 keyboard:

  • “It's a hybrid of an acoustic piano, an electric piano made by Yamaha, and it's severely underused in music.” (17:04)

• The upcoming album Whatever's Clever (out March 6) is, paradoxically, “not clever,” but authentic and emotionally open:

  • “It was kind of a cathartic way to say goodbye to a former way of thinking... Really songs for me.” (17:46–18:17)

‘Professor Puth’ and Music Teaching

• Puth discusses his TikTok series "Professor Puth," encouraging everyone to make music regardless of skill:
  • “You have a voice... If you don't know how to play an instrument, your voice is your instrument.” (18:51–19:17)

---

Interview: Allen Iverson

(19:42–27:34)

On Michael Jordan & NBA Return

• Reflects on playing against Michael Jordan:
  • “All I wanted to do was watch Mike... That was my hero. He was the reason why everybody know who Allen Iverson is today.” (20:31)
  • Recalls being starstruck: “He had this aura, like this orange force field around him... When I'm around him, I'm still starstruck.” (21:28–22:08)

Relationship With Philly

• Discusses his bond with Philadelphia:
  • “There's no relationship, you know, player to fans like Allen Iverson in the city of Philadelphia, man.” (23:21–23:54)
• On feeling at home: “I grew up with those people... I became a man there.” (24:02)

Upbringing and Path to Basketball

• Credits his mother for introducing him to basketball despite his initial focus on football, calling it a legendary turning point in his life.

New Memoir & Documentary

• Talks “Misunderstood,” his memoir, and new Prime Video docuseries—sharing his aim to be an “open book”:
  • “My gift is being an open book... to inspire, to help people, to save lives... I want to share them, you know what I mean? So people don't make the same mistakes that I made.” (26:21)
  • “It's confirmation that the devil is a sucker ... He's able to make people believe that their dreams can't come true. And he's never been able to mess with me.” (26:58–27:31)

Notable Moment

• Jimmy reveals Iverson’s mom gave him her own playing card backstage—prompting laughs and adding a touching, personal moment. (25:45–25:52)

---

Key Timestamps

• NBA/Trump Monologue: 01:11–06:10
• Jacob Elordi Interview: 06:46–13:56
• Charlie Puth Interview: 14:22–19:17
• Allen Iverson Interview: 19:42–27:34

---

Notable Quotes

• "For Trump, knocking down walls is easy. It's building them that's hard." – Jimmy Fallon (04:37)
• “White fritillaries. Do with that what you will.” – Jacob Elordi on Euphoria, (08:11)
• “I want all of you to make music... If you don't know how to play an instrument, your voice is your instrument.” – Charlie Puth, (18:51–19:17)
• “He had this aura, like this orange force field around him... When I'm around him, I'm still starstruck.” – Allen Iverson on Michael Jordan, (21:28–22:08)
• "My gift is being an open book... to inspire, to help people, to save lives." – Allen Iverson, (26:21)

---

Tone & Style

High-energy, humorous, upbeat, and candid exchanges. Jimmy Fallon’s warmth as a host draws out both comedic moments and heartfelt confessions, while celebrity guests offer glimpses into their creative process and personal lives.

---

Episode Takeaways

• Jimmy’s monologue skewers the intersection of politics and pop culture, especially Trump’s presidency and its theatrics.
• Jacob Elordi’s dedication to his craft shines in detailed behind-the-scenes anecdotes.
• Charlie Puth opens up about music, fatherhood, and his desire to encourage broader creativity.
• Allen Iverson’s humility, candor, and bond with Philly are at the heart of his memoir and documentary.

---

Transcript

[A]

From Studio 16, Rockefeller center in the heart of New York City, it's the Tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon. Tonight, join Jimmy Disgust, Jacob Elordi, Charlie Puth, Allen Iverson. And featuring the legendary roots crew 2200. And now, here he is, Jimmy. Thank you. Thank you very much. Oh, that's what I'm talking about. I love you. Thank you very much, everybody.

[B]

Welcome, everybody. Hello, everybody.

[A]

Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Tonight Show. This is it.

[C]

You're here.

[A]

This is exciting.

[B]

Tonight, the new NBA season officially tipped off right here on NBC. That's right. After more than 20 years, the NBA is finally back on NBC. In the 90s, NBC was all about the Chicago Bulls and now the whole network is about Chicago. We're coming to you after tonight's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. LeBron James didn't play tonight. However, he did appear in 50 DraftKing commercials with Kevin Hart. One of my favorite players is the Spurs 7 foot 5 inch French superstar Victor Wembanyama. Yes. In fact, his defense is so good, France just asked him to guard the Louvre.

[D]

Thank you.

[B]

That's right. Everyone is pumped. The NBA is back. The fans in Sacramento are yelling go Kings. When everyone else is chanting no kings. And of course, President Trump loves the NBA. I mean, he really loves it. Every time he sees a basketball, he's like, make up goals and you go, yeah. Today, when asked who his favorite NBA team is, Trump said, Without question, it's the Denver McNuggets. And it really is. Well, the NBA is officially back and there's so many teams in the league, it can be hard to keep them straight. So it's here. Tariq and I will help you out.

[C]

All right.

[B]

When you think about Philly, you think about the. When you think about Washington, you think about Wizard, Miami Heat, the Dallas man. When you think about Utah, you think about the Mormons. No, no, not quite. But let's try again.

[A]

When you think about la, you think about the Lakers.

[B]

When you think about Portland, you think.

[A]

The Trailblazers, the Phoenix Suns, the Cleveland ca.

[B]

And when you think about Utah, you.

[A]

Think about white people.

[B]

No. No. Salt lakes, horses. No. No. No. Mormons. No. You said that earlier. No.

[C]

Real Housewives.

[B]

No.

[A]

Mitt Romney.

[B]

No. No.

[C]

I don't know. Nature.

[B]

It's the Jazz. The Jazz. The Utah Jazz.

[C]

Okay, that's very funny. What is it, really?

[B]

I'm not kidding. They're called the Utah Jazz. They used to be in New Orleans, but they moved to Utah.

[C]

They moved to Utah, but they kept.

[B]

The name Jazz Yes.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. When you're thinking NBA, you're thinking basketball. When you're thinking about Jazz, you're thinking Utah. There you go. That's right, Jazz. Thank you for helping.

[B]

I hope that helped everybody. While people are talking about this, the White House just began demolition on the East Wing so they can start building Trump's new ballroom. Here's what it looked like before. Uh huh. And let's see what it looks like now. Yeah, it's all part of Trump's $200 million metaphor. For Trump, knocking down walls is easy. It's building them that's hard. Meanwhile, Today is the 21st day of the government shutdown, and Trump spent the afternoon hosting Senate Republicans for lunch at the White House. And the lunch became a picnic when they realized there were no walls. Even worse, at the end of the lunch, Trump spun around his iPad and made everyone leave him a tip. And he goes, 30% is standard.

[E]

Just.

[B]

Well, listen to this. Health Secretary RFK Jr. Is set to announce that Americans should eat more butterfly cheese and red meat. When they heard that every cardiologist started building their own $200 million ballroom. They're like, want to add bacon in there, too? Some TV news. I saw that Hulu is working on a reboot of Prison Break. The reboot is a little less exciting because in this one, Trump just pardons everyone. You guys see this? According to a new report, the world's most disliked airline is American Airlines.

[E]

Yep.

[B]

Today, both Spirit and Southwest looked at each other like, how?

[C]

How.

[B]

Yeah. American Airlines is rough. When the pilot lands the plane, the wings clap. Wow. The wings clap. That's right. Hey. Oh, Finally, a woman in Michigan won the lottery after she used ChatGPT to pick the winning numbers.

[C]

Oh.

[B]

Meanwhile, Alexa is still answering. What's the weather with? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.

[A]

We have a great show tonight. The star. The star of the new movie Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi is here.

[B]

He's great.

[A]

Charlie Puth is here to talk. An NBA legend, Allen Iverson, is joining us.

[E]

Stick around.

[A]

We'll be right back with Jacob Elordi. Everybody.

[C]

Know that don't like Bo Jackson.

[B]

Our first guest is a very talented actor who stars in the new movie Frankenstein. It's in select theaters now and on Netflix November 7th. Everyone, please welcome Jacob Elorde.

[A]

Welcome back.

[B]

Thank you, buddy. Jacob, welcome back. It's always great to see you. Good to see you. But before we talk about Frankenstein, which, by the way, I can't even. I cannot wait to rave about how great you are in this movie. Oh, my gosh. You crushed me. But let's talk euphoria, if you don't mind.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

We know you from that as well. It's been a few years since the last season, and. But a new season is coming, though, right?

[D]

What do they say? Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, that's what we keep hoping.

[D]

That's what they told me.

[B]

Yeah. It's getting. Is it closer or is it done?

[D]

I don't know if it's. I mean, I think it's still going. I think it's. It's something that'll always be happening.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

You know.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

It'll never end.

[B]

Are you shrouded in secrecy? Can you give me a line or something that describes this season for my part?

[D]

Cause I only know my part in the season because the whole thing is like the JFK Files. It's like it's all redacted. Like, what really happened is in.

[B]

You don't know. You can't see. You can't read the real script. No. So you only see your part for mine.

[D]

I think a good phrase, I guess, for my season is white fritillaries. Do with that what you will.

[B]

White fritillaries.

[D]

Get your tongue around it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Thank you. Fritillaries.

[D]

White fritillaries.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I have no idea what that means.

[D]

Me neither.

[B]

Okay, good. But I will. But I will know what that means.

[D]

I hope so. I really hope so. All right, good.

[B]

Thanks for always throwing. Throwing a little thing for the Internet to figure out.

[D]

Great.

[B]

I want to talk about Frankenstein. It's in select theaters now, but it's on Netflix November 7th.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You played the creature.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And this is. This is what you look like if you can see. If you can zoom in there. Can you. Yeah. That's you, bud. Your body is made up of parts of different humans. And you think that it would be. A lot of it would be done with cgi, but it wasn't. It was all practical.

[D]

Yeah. It's practical effects. I mean, so much of the movie, the sets, the costumes are all handmade by artisans, by these great artists, which is a rare thing in movies now.

[B]

But how long did it take you to get into makeup? Cause it's your whole body.

[D]

Well, when I look like. When I look like this. Yeah, it was like six hours.

[B]

Cause it's just your head and your hands.

[D]

Yeah. And then when he's sort of first born from head to toe, it was like 11 hours.

[C]

What do you do? What do you do?

[B]

I mean, 11 hours in makeup, that's before you work. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do you do for 11 hours?

[D]

Well, it's kind of. It was actually like the perfect amount of time. You don't get that much time when you're filming to be able to get into something. Yeah. So it was like the perfect amount of time to be able to sort of leave all of this stuff behind and sort of become something else, I guess. Hopefully.

[B]

You were phenomenal in the movie. In fact, I'm looking at your eyes right now because you just. Your eyes. It just so much acting with just your eyes and you look so sad. I mean, the movie's scary. The movie is scary. It's terrifying, it's trippy. It's beautifully shot. But man, your acting is through the roof in this. And I go. And a lot of it for the first half is non verbal.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

It's physical and it's just phenomenal. You transform even the way you walk.

[D]

Thank you, man.

[B]

Did you practice that or get trained that? Did someone teach you?

[D]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I did. I did a lot of. Well, first of all, I thought about what it would be like to, you know, when you're trying to like wake your foot up when you've been sitting on it for too long and it's not listening to your brain, things like that. Like, how would somebody else's foot move on your body? And then I, Guillermo had the great idea of working with a buto dance teacher, which is this Japanese dance of death, which is about like reanimating a corpse. So I would sort of. I studied that for a little while and just a little bit of everything, like walking through the streets.

[B]

Like I had to walk around.

[D]

Yeah. With my dog. I would walk around Toronto. Like I had some kind of wow.

[B]

Like if you're going to Starbucks or something, you just walk like that.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

It's Jacob Elodie walking funny. Yeah, I forgot.

[D]

Yeah, I forgot that people might watch.

[B]

Well, yeah, but even the voice, by the way, the way you're communicating and talking, I was like, man, oh, man, you just kind of nailed it. I have a picture of you, by the way, with your dog, I guess, on set, which is. So here's Jacob in full makeup with his dog. Now this is after you walked the dog.

[D]

And she was so sick of me at that point.

[B]

She was like, let me sleep.

[D]

Yeah. She's like, I'm so tired of this. And you look weird.

[B]

You crushed it, though. You would think like with Guillermo del Toro too, you'd kind of see like these creatures and stuff. Like that. Which you do see. But he did. But that was all practical makeup. But. Yeah, but a lot of the stuff that, when he's experimenting and stuff like that. It's real, right? It's real.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Puppetry.

[D]

Yeah, Real puppetry and real, like wax figures and things like that that were all handmade. Some of them he put his own money into as well in the film. When the studio wouldn't pay for it. He would pay.

[B]

Exactly.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. To this day, that's why he's like, he's the greatest filmmaker alive.

[B]

I love that guy.

[D]

Yeah, me too.

[B]

Did you fan out? Did you geek out when you first met him?

[D]

Yeah, yeah. Inside I exploded.

[B]

I think outside, you played it.

[D]

You played it so cool.

[B]

You played it so cool.

[D]

No, I really didn't. I really didn't. I just. When you meet it, when you meet an artist of that magnitude that's affected your life and everyone's sort of life for so long, you just. You just have to let them know how important their work is. Like you.

[B]

Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah, thank you. That's what I say. That's what I do to you.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

I had said the same to you.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

How do we. How do we set up this movie Frankenstein? I mean, everyone kind of knows the.

[D]

Story, but I think. I think it's a film about being human and about how we're all misunderstood and how we misunderstand ourselves. And I guess the hope is with the film at the end, we can all maybe understand each other a little bit better or make a move toward understanding and listening to each other. It's a really human film.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Really quickly, I just want to give you just quickly, just some reviews. Just say rave reviews for you for playing the character Jacob Elordi delivers career best performance in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein by Newsweek. And then this one. Jacob Elordi is the soul of a gorgeous Guillermo del Toro monster movie. Indiewire. Congratulations on all these great reviews. Well done. Well done, buddy.

[D]

Thank you.

[A]

Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein is in select theaters now and on Netflix November 7th. We'll be right back with Charlie Hoot. Our next guest is a multi platinum.

[B]

Grammy nominated artist whose brand new single Changes is out right now from his upcoming album Whatever's Clever. Please welcome Charlie Puth. Charlie Puth, you're a talented, talented man. Thank you for doing 100%.

[E]

Absolutely appreciate it, bro. I actually had my hair like that in 2018.

[B]

Did you?

[E]

Really, really embarrassing.

[B]

Oh, my God. Perfect. I will look up the Photos later. I want you to. I want to say congrats on Changes, by the way, I love the song. It's so good.

[E]

Thank you.

[B]

Just released it on Thursday. You also released a music video for Changes that's got a lot of people talking.

[E]

I feel like I know what you're gonna ask.

[B]

Well, there's a part in the video where you and your beautiful wife Brooke are dancing together and you're both holding her tummy.

[E]

Aw. Yeah, I didn't leave much up to the imagination there, but, yeah, we'll be. We're expecting a baby in March.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Come on.

[A]

March. Wow. Congratulations.

[E]

Thank you.

[D]

Thank you.

[B]

You're gonna be a dad.

[E]

I'm gonna be a dad.

[B]

You're gonna be a dad. Yeah.

[E]

I was told not to reveal the gender. Yeah.

[D]

No, don't.

[E]

No.

[B]

But you're gonna be a great dad.

[E]

Thank you.

[B]

I'm so excited for you.

[E]

I hope baby likes music because it's the only thing I'm good at.

[B]

No. Oh, my gosh. No, you're not. But baby's gonna love music. Do you have music planned out for Baby?

[E]

Well, I feel like I'm gonna do what my mom did for me. My mom used to put the headphones. It was the 90s, so the headphones were big. She put them on her tummy, and I think I listened to James Taylor and Luther Vandross and I got a wide array of music. So I'll do the same thing whether Brooke likes it or not.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Even just two little AirPods. And just go.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And just hold it there. Just hold it there and go. Yeah. This is a five minute song, so get ready.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

Times have change. Yeah, exactly. It's 2025, baby. Well, changes is everywhere. There's a good kind of retro vibe to the song.

[E]

Yeah, it's kind of Peter Gabriel inspired.

[B]

What is it? It's the keyboard.

[E]

It's the Bruce Hornsby. It's kind of like. It's not quite 80s and it's not quite 90s. It's right in the turning period of, like, inspired, sonically. Of like 1989. Right before things got a little more technologically advanced.

[B]

I love how nerdy you are with all this stuff. It's like actually 1989.

[E]

It's actually 1989.

[B]

It was 1989. It's the fall of 89. And what kind of keyboard is it?

[E]

It's a CP70, I think y'.

[C]

All.

[E]

Do y' all got one over there like a.

[B]

You have a CP70.

[E]

It's Phil Collins, you know. Groovy Kind Of Love by Phil Collins. When I look at you Da da da da da da da da da it's like that keyboard, that very. That 80s. It's that one, yes. It's a hybrid of an acoustic piano, an electric piano made by Yamaha, and it's severely underused in music. And I just. The day I started making the record, I thought to myself, why? It's the first sound that popped up. I thought to myself, why haven't I used this sound before? Really interesting stuff. I know.

[B]

No, it is actually.

[A]

No, it is. No, I love hearing.

[B]

I love when you come on and talk about music and talk about your craft. March 6, the whole album comes out. It's called Whatever's Clever. Where did the title come from?

[E]

Whatever's Clever the title came from. Well, what's funny is that the album is called Whatever's Clever, but none of these songs are. I'd consider them clever. They're real. And I think by me naming the album Whatever's Clever to get really artisty here, by me naming the album Whatever's Clever was kind of a cathartic way to say goodbye to a former way of thinking about, oh, every song. This has to be perfect for radio. This has to be perfect for X, Y and Z. Like, it's really songs for me and it's been very therapeutic making this album.

[C]

Oh, really?

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

It's brought me even closer to my family and not that we were very close, but, like, closer in, like, an even more, like, emotional way. Because we all love music and. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Do you write the music first or the words?

[E]

I usually come up with the music and the sounds first. Like, you see me on the Internet, but this is. For the first time I came up with, like, the subject matter and then sound followed after.

[B]

I'm so excited. I love the song. I obviously follow you. On the socials, they have this thing on TikTok called Professor Puth.

[E]

Yes.

[B]

Yeah, it's great. I think this. What are there. Is there eight or nine out now?

[E]

There's nine out now. And it started with my friend Justin. Just started out as a text message idea. It was like. You should just call the series Professor Puth because I want people to. I want all of you to make music. I want everyone around the world to know that they have it within them to make a song, even if they're not the most musically inclined. You have a voice. If you don't know how to play an instrument, your voice is your instrument. And I just get. I That's, that's, that's what I preach every day.

[A]

Professor Puth, Charlie Puth Changes is out now and whatever's clever will be available March 6. We're talking to Allen Iverson after the break. Stick around.

[B]

Arnett's guest is a legendary NBA player. He's an 11 time all star and a member of the Basketball hall of Fame. His new documentary Allen Iverson premieres Thursday on Prime Video. And his new memoir, misunderstood is out now. Please welcome Allen Ivers. Allen Iverson, take the love. The people out there love you.

[E]

We love you.

[B]

Welcome to the show. Roots. Roots.

[C]

My Philly guy.

[B]

The Roots. Yeah, the Philly. The Philly connection. Well, I want to get into all this stuff. First off, this is a big show for us because the NBA is back on NBC tonight. And now it's back in the family. What do you remember? We're playing with Michael Jordan.

[C]

That's all I remember. Michael Jordan, really? I mean, NBC. Growing up, all I wanted to do was watch Mike, you know what I mean? That was my hero. He was my vision. He was the reason why. Everybody know who Allen Iverson is today because of him, definitely.

[B]

Here's you and here's you and Michael playing. Do you let them know that you're a fan when you're playing against them or you go, I can't.

[C]

No, never.

[B]

No, you can't do that. No, you can't. Right?

[E]

Cause it's.

[C]

Nah. But you know, before the game, you know, I sit and I remember the first time I was just staring at him and just looking at him like, that's him. You know what I mean?

[B]

Just staring at him.

[C]

Yeah, I was in. I was in. I think that was the first time I was really starstruck. But I actually, like, what I remember the most is he didn't look real to me. That was the first time I saw a human that didn't look real.

[B]

Like a hologram or like a movie.

[C]

I don't know. He just had this. I talked about it in my hall of Fame speech. It was like he had this aura, like this orange force field around him. And it was like, you know, I remember, you know, watching a show and they talked about when Rick James, that whole thing where it just, you know me, I saw his aura, man. Like, he didn't look real. Wow. You know what I mean? And it's like that now. Like, it's so embarrassing. When I'm around him, I'm still starstruck, you know what I mean? I'm embarrassing my friends, you know, My friends gotta tap me and, like, Chuck. Okay, man. You know what I mean? Calm down. You know what I mean? Like, you embarrassing us.

[B]

You're Allen Iverson. Yeah. You're peers now.

[C]

That's what they say. Like, you're a superstar, too. I'm like, nah, not like this.

[A]

Nah.

[B]

I mean, look, not everyone gets to do this to their idol. Take a look at this.

[A]

Come on, now. I mean, that is when Mike said what Alex said. Yes. The book of the crowd to Michael Jordan. Y.

[C]

Now, that's. That's different. Like, he was a. He was a casualty of war.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

We were. We were competing. You know what I mean? Once the. Once the ball went up, you know what I mean? Then all that, you know, went away. It was time to dance.

[B]

Do people bring that up to you all the time?

[C]

Almost every day. If not every day. Every day. Every day. That's how great he was. And you think about it, on that play, he still almost blocked my shot, so.

[B]

Right.

[C]

That's a testament to how great he was.

[B]

Yeah. Also, we were talking about earlier, Philly. Clearly, the Philly fans love you. Philadelphia loves you. What does it feel like to be loved by a Philly?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

The Roots.

[C]

Thank you so much. I love them. I love them, and they love me back. You think about all the relationships with players and their fans, you know what I mean? You think about Michael Jordan in Chicago. You think about LeBron in Cleveland right now, Steph Curry, you know what I mean? In San Francisco, Golden State. But hands down, there's no relationship, you know, player to fans like Allen Iverson in the city of Philadelphia, man.

[B]

Yeah. You feel it?

[C]

Definitely.

[B]

I bet you have. I bet you have an aura. I bet you have an aura when you're walking around Philly.

[C]

I hope so. Well, matter of fact, I don't. You know what I mean? I don't want them to feel like that around me. You know what I mean? I grew up with those people, you know what I mean? I became a man there. I got there when I was 21 years old, so I didn't know what I was coming or going, you know what I mean?

[B]

How did you get into it, Mom? Who got you into basketball?

[C]

I was always a football player, and I thought basketball was soft. I mean, obviously, I was wrong. I was mistaken. You run into Shaquille o', Neal, you know that it's not soft. Yeah, but, you know, I was 8 years old, and I was kicking, screaming out the door. She said, you know, you're going to play basketball. You know what I mean? I was like, I don't want to play basketball. And I got there, and it was the craziest thing. All of my teammates were there trying out. My football teammates were trying out for basketball. And I'll never forget it. It's the legendary day. I came home and I kissed her and I hugged her and I thanked her, and, you know, I said, ma, I loved it. You know what I mean? And ever since then, basketball has been my life.

[B]

That's you. Yeah. I got to meet your beautiful mom and your sister backstage. Actually, they might be in the audience. Are they? Is that Mom? There's mom Brandi, and she's so cute. This is a true story. You're the best. You made this.

[A]

You made this.

[B]

Yeah, that's right. That's right. And now he's a bestselling author, by the way. Yeah. So there. You can add that to the list. But I met your mom backstage. She was so nice and so cute and talking to me, and she gave me.

[C]

Oh, my God, for real?

[B]

Your mom gave me her own playing card. I had to show this.

[A]

Cause that.

[B]

That is. That is the best.

[A]

It goes in my collection. This is my favorite thing in my collection.

[B]

You not only have a bestselling book, but you have this new docu series. It's called Allen Iverson. It's on Prime.

[E]

This is.

[B]

It's three parts. It's amazing. You get pretty emotional during some parts of the cause. I mean, it's all access. Were you afraid going into this thing?

[C]

I feel like my gift in life, obviously, basketball, definitely. But my gift is being an open book, you know what I mean? To inspire, to help people, to save lives, you know what I mean? I've been through a lot in my life. I have been. I mean, definitely a turbulent life, career, lifestyle, period. And a lot of mistakes that I made in life. A lot of them are embarrassing, but I felt like I want to share them, you know what I mean? So people don't make the same mistakes that I made.

[E]

Good for you.

[C]

I definitely feel like it's a gift to the world, you know what I mean? I feel like it's confirmation that the devil is a sucker, you know what I mean? He's a loser. He's a loser. He's a manipulator. He preys on the weak and people that don't believe in God, you know what I mean? He's able to make people believe that their dreams can't come true. And he's never been able to mess with me. Then and he still can now.

[B]

That's what I'm talking about. I love that.

[A]

Bang. Allen Iverson, everybody. Misunderstood is out now. Bestseller. And the documentary Allen Iverson begins streaming on Prime Video this Thursday. Stick around, not behind the line.

[C]

I separate door from divine meditation.

[A]

My thanks to Jacob Elordi, Allen Iverson, Charlie Booth once again. Triple duty right there. And the roots from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Good night, everybody. Thank you. Get involved, better get involved. Get, get, get involved, y' all get into it. Do it.

[B]

Thanks for listening to the Tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon. Don't forget to subscribe to get the latest episodes weekday mornings. Wherever you get your podcast, watch the Tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon, weeknights on NBC and streaming on Peacock.