Trump Tumbles on Air Force One | Robert De Niro, "Weird Al" Yankovic | Monday, June 9

Summary

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Episode Summary: Trump Tumbles on Air Force One | Robert De Niro, "Weird Al" Yankovic | Monday, June 9

Introduction

Broadcasting from Studio 6P at Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon welcomed viewers to an engaging and entertaining episode on June 10, 2025. The show featured the esteemed actors Robert De Niro and comedy legend "Weird Al" Yankovic, with musical performances by the legendary Roots crew, S A Y, and Jimmy Mack.

Jimmy Fallon's Monologue: Navigating Current Events with Humor

Jimmy Fallon kicked off the show with his signature monologue, blending humor with a critique of recent political and pop culture events.

• Robert De Niro's Upcoming Projects: Fallon teased De Niro's involvement in "Meet the Parents 4," humorously clarifying misconceptions about Trump and Elon Musk's involvement. He quipped, “He said, what did Trump and Elon do now? And I go, no, no, no, the movie” (00:45).

• President Trump's Air Force One Mishap: Highlighting President Trump's recent troubles boarding Air Force One, Fallon joked, “That's what happens when your necktie is eight feet long. That's why I'm not shocked that he tripped. I'm shocked that he had the upper body strength to hold himself up” (02:10).

• Trump and Elon Musk Feud: Discussing the infamous feud between Trump and Elon Musk, Fallon mocked Trump's attempt to sell his Tesla, likening it to a post-breakup dilemma: “It's like, I want my vinyl back. I said, original Village People” (03:15). He even created a humorous faux commercial for "Trump Tesla," blending various car brands with a satirical twist.

• Business News with a Comedic Edge: Fallon touched on Lululemon's price hikes due to Trump's tariffs and Chipotle's new dip launch, interspersing jokes to keep the tone light. He humorously addressed the news of two international researchers charged with smuggling fungus into Michigan, turning it into a playful band name: “Smuggling Fungus, ladies and gentlemen. Amazing” (06:50).

• Heartfelt Tribute to Sly Stone: Transitioning to a more somber note, Fallon announced the passing of Sly Stone, celebrating his legacy and the documentary "Sly Lives" by Questlove. He remarked, “He will be missed. If you want to check out what Questlove did, it's on Hulu. It's called Sly Liz” (07:07).

Interactive Segments: "Who Knew?" and "Topical Karaoke"

• Who Knew? (09:44): Fallon introduced the "Who Knew?" segment, revealing surprising facts about himself and his guests. Highlights included De Niro's ability to sink limes and "Weird Al" Yankovic's harmonica skills and playful revelation that his voice is dubbed by Walton Goggins.

• Topical Karaoke (12:33): Engaging the audience, Fallon hosted "Topical Karaoke," where contestants performed songs using actual news quotes. Notable performances included:

  • Contestant 1 (15:03): A humorous rendition of President Trump's quote about Ozempic, creatively titled "A Friend of Mine."

  • Contestant 2 (16:37): An impassioned performance of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's remarks on Newark Airport's equipment issues.

  • Contestant 3 (17:29): An electrifying interpretation of Elon Musk's response to Trump's congressional spending bill, earning a standing ovation.

The segment concluded with contestant three being declared the winner, highlighting the audience's enthusiasm and the show's blend of humor and current events.

In-Depth Conversations with Robert De Niro

Post-segments, Robert De Niro rejoined the stage, engaging in a heartfelt and insightful conversation with Fallon.

• Career Reflections (20:24): De Niro reminisced about his first appearance on late-night TV with Fallon in 2000 during "Weekend Update" and their collaborative stint celebrating "Saturday Night Live's" 50th anniversary. He shared, “I always had good times with Marty. He just has a special way of working that makes it easy” (22:07).

• Tribeca Festival and Celebrations (23:03): De Niro discussed his role as a co-founder of the Tribeca Festival, celebrating its 24th year. Fallon promoted the festival, urging viewers to attend through June 15th.

• Movie Recommendations and Preferences (25:20): In a playful segment, Fallon asked De Niro to recommend one of his iconic films for the audience to watch. The conversation included humorous indecision between classics like "Goodfellas," "Taxi Driver," and "Raging Bull," ultimately leading to selections like "Casino" and "The Godfather Part II." De Niro emphasized, “If I was mad at one of my kids, I could threaten them with showing them Cape Fear” (27:30), showcasing his charismatic blend of humor and sincerity.

Spotlight on "Weird Al" Yankovic

Transitioning to his musical guest, Fallon welcomed "Weird Al" Yankovic, delving into his illustrious career and upcoming tour.

• Early Career and Billboard Misstep (32:23): Yankovic recounted his first appearance in Billboard magazine, humorously noting, “They misspelled my name. It was Weird Owl” (32:40). Fallon playfully highlighted the mistake, enhancing the segment’s comedic flair.

• High School Antics and Club Creation (34:12): Yankovic shared quirky stories from his high school days, including the formation of the "Volcano Worshipers Club," which served as a humorous tactic to secure an extra yearbook photo despite the club’s inactive status.

• Tour Insights and Collaborations (37:25): Discussing his "Bigger and Weirder" tour, Yankovic detailed the enhancements from his previous "Ill Advised Vanity" tour, emphasizing larger stage setups, costume changes, and a bigger band. He enthusiastically mentioned collaborations, including a standout moment where Fallon shared his experience working on the "New Year's Eve Polka" with Yankovic and the Roots: “It was so easy and fun working with you. You are a genius, dude” (36:07).

• Anecdotes and Inspirations (38:28): Yankovic reminisced about attending Elton John concerts as a teenager, drawing a heartwarming parallel to his current status as a performer on the grand stage at Madison Square Garden.

Conclusion

As the show wrapped up, Fallon extended heartfelt congratulations to Yankovic on his tour and acknowledged De Niro's enduring legacy in cinema and the arts. The episode concluded with a blend of humor, heartfelt tributes, and enthusiastic promotion of upcoming projects and tours, leaving viewers both entertained and informed.

Notable Quotes:

• Jimmy Fallon on Trump's Necktie: “That's what happens when your necktie is eight feet long. That's why I'm not shocked that he tripped” (02:10).

• Robert De Niro on Comedy: “Even when my mother told me I was funny when I was a kid” (21:38).

• "Weird Al" on Being Weird: “I like to think I'm the good kind” (33:00).

• Fallon on Topical Karaoke Winner: “Congratulations. That's amazing” (20:24).

This episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon masterfully balanced humor with insightful conversations, celebrating iconic figures like Robert De Niro and "Weird Al" Yankovic while keeping the audience engaged with topical humor and interactive segments.

Transcript

[Jimmy Fallon]

From Studio 6P in Rockefeller center in the heart of New York City, it's a Tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon. Tonight joins Jimmy and his guest, Robert De Niro. Weird Al Yankovic. And featuring the legendary Roots crew S A Y. And now, here he is, Jimmy Mack. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy yourself. Welcome, everybody. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Tonight Show. Thank you for being here. I am very excited about tonight's show. Robert De Niro is here tonight. Right now, he's working on meet the parents 4. Backstage I asked, what's going on with the Fockers? And he said, what did Trump and Elon do now? And I go, no, no, no, the movie. Meanwhile, I saw that Ariana Grande will be in the new Meet the Parents. And in return, Robert De Niro will be in Wicked too. Something has changed within me Something has changed. Something not the same. Some political news. Yesterday, President Trump was on his way to Camp David. Was. But it looked like he had a little trouble boarding Air Force One. Watch this. Yeah, Joe Biden was like, not so easy, is it? That's what happens when your necktie is eight feet long. That's why I'm not shocked that he tripped. I'm shocked that he had the upper body strength to hold himself up. It's like. Then just a little bit later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also made his way onto the plane. Let's see how that went. I mean, you know, Trump made Rubio trip just so he wouldn't be the only one. Marco, you gotta be. You owe me a little favor, buddy. Come on, pal, make me look good. Take one for the team, buddy. Well, guys, everybody's still talking about Trump's feud with Elon Musk. And apparently Trump is considering getting rid of the Tesla that he bought a few months ago. Although that's the same feeling every Tesla owner has. Giving up the car. Makes sense. I mean, after a breakup, you always get rid of things that remind you of your ex. It's like, I want my vinyl back. I said, original Village People. Can we see how excited Trump was when he bought his Tesla? This is real. Thank you all very much. I love Tesla. But now Trump's selling the car. And check out how he's doing it. Watch this. Come on down to Trump Tesla, where everything merged ger. Where you can buy your very own Tesla. But we also have Honduras Toyotas, Kiaras, Mazdas, and Volvas, all with 0% APR financing, whatever the hell that means. Trump, Tesla, stop into dirt. Oh, yeah. Trump, Tesla, get your Tesla. Everyone's still talking about Trump's big falling out with Elon Musk. We've got so many questions. So the President actually agreed to join us for an interview about it right now. Oh, thank you for being here, Mr. President. So tell me, what exactly happened between you and Elon Musk? We broke up a little bit. Okay. Breakups are hard. Things happen fast. I mean, what were you saying about Elon just last Wednesday? It was totally brilliant. Yeah. And how about Thursday? He's dumb as a rock. All right, look, this. It must be tough. Have you ever been this disappointed by anyone so close to you? Don Jr.

[Robert De Niro]

And Eric.

[Jimmy Fallon]

All right, speaking. Speaking of kids, how many of Elon's kids have you met? 1.6 trillion. Trillion. Forgot it. Now, your relationship with Elon ended so abruptly. Have you ever seen anything explode this fast? Tesla. All right. No. Okay, well, it looks like you're gonna need a new best friend. Who do you think that'll be? Hannibal Lecter. He's a wonderful man. All right, forget it. Let's just move on. I heard that you might cut Elon's SpaceX funding. I mean, how would you launch rockets without him? Bing, bing, bing, bong. She. It's God. Okay, okay, last question. How do you think Elon is coping with the breakup? Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine. Elon, is that true? Yeah. All right, good. Thank you. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate this. Thank you. Very busy. Wow. Can't believe it. Switching gears to some business news. Lululemon is preparing to raise prices after Trump's tariffs. Ooh. Yep. As a result, Lululemon's stock is sagging, but thankfully, they can give it a lift to make it look amazing. You guys see this? Chipotle announced that they're releasing their first new dip in five years. They wanted to do it earlier, but they had to wait until RFK Jr shut down the FDA. This is real good. You're gonna love this dip. Well, get this. Two international researchers were charged with smuggling fungus into Michigan. Hold up, hold up. You did not just say smuggling fungus. Yeah, Tarek, I did. That's crazy. What's so crazy about smuggling fungus? That's the name of our Crunchy Jam band. Our side project, Smuggling Fungus. Oh, wow. I don't suppose you'd want to play a song Smuggling Fungus with my Smuggling Fungus? Yeah. First we take the fungus, and then we definitely. And then we take a compass and we smuggle all the fungus. Because we're smuggling fungus. Smuggling fungus, ladies and gentlemen. Amazing.

[Robert De Niro]

Good job.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And Finally, a zebra that had been lost in Tennessee for the past week was found. Finally found and flown back to its owner. This is real. Take a look. There's a zebra in a bag. Zebra in a bag. Or as they call it at Arby's, the number three. By the way, that's also how Trump plans to deport Elon. We have a great show. Give it up for the Ruth and Johnson. Nice. Quickly here. We just got some sad news. The lead singer of Sly and the Family Stone, Sly Stone, passed away today. One of the greatest musical artists of all time. So many songs, so many gems. Family affair, Hot Fun in the summertime. Yeah. Quest, you just recently made a documentary about Sly called Sly Lives. It's on Hulu. What was it like? I mean, he's an absolute genius. Like he invented the. The Alphabet that all musicians write their books with, you know. But he's also very reclusive. I mean, you couldn't. No one could talk to him. We didn't know where he was. It was hard extracting an information album. But he did an amazing job. He will be missed. If you want to check out what Questlove did, it's on Hulu. It's called Sly Liz. But we will miss you. Sly Stone, everybody. One of the best. He's great, bud. Guys, we have a fun show for you tonight. He's one of the greatest actors of all time and he's a co founder of the Tribeca Festival, which is celebrating its 24th year. It's running now through June 15th. So if you're in New York City, get tickets right now. Robert De Niro is here tonight. What a show. The whole show. He is the highest selling comedy recording artist of all time. His Bigger and Weirder tour kicks off this Friday. Weird. Oh, Yankee Vic is joining us tonight. Hey, guys. It is time to play a fun new game where we reveal little known facts that we all just learned. It's time for who Knew? Now, I will go first because I just found this out. I found out that lemons float, but limes sink. Did you guys know this? This is a real thing. Look, here's the lime. Ready?

[Robert De Niro]

Ready. Sink. Go Sink.

[Jimmy Fallon]

It did. Now look at the lemon. Watch this. Ooh. Who knew? Wow. Hey, who knew? Hey, Jimmy. Yo. I just found out something cool too. Yeah, what's that, Higgins? I can play the harmonica. Watch this. Oh, my God.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Wow.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's great, Higgins. Who knew?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Who knew?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Who knew? Hey, hey, Jimmy. Jimmy. I just found out I can recite PI. All right, here it goes. 3.14159265. Blueberry, apple, pumpkin, pecan, key lime, sweet potato and cherry. Oh, that was impressive. That is impressive. Quest. Who knew?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Hey, Jimmy, I found out something cool, too.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, it's Larry, our cameraman. What is it, Larry?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I found out my voice is actually voiced by Walton Goggins.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I love Walton Goggins. I mean, is that true? It's true. What? Who knew? All right, sit down. Oh, my God. Standing ovation. All right. Standing ovation. Standing ovation. It's true, Jimmy. Wow. It's true. Who knew? Who knew? Walton Goggins. What. What are you doing here? Well, you know, I was in town.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Seeing all the sights, but there's really one thing that I wanted to do but I. I never. I never got a chance to do.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You mean jump into the audience and crowd surf?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You knew? Yes, I knew. Let's do it, bud. Here. Oh, my God.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

My thanks to Walton Goggins and Walmart. The Walmart you thought you knew is now new.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Who knew? We'll be right back with more tonight's show. Welcome back to the show, everybody. You know, you know, there's a lot of stuff going on in the news, and it can be hard to cover all of it, but it's a lot easier to sing it. That's right. It's time for topical karaoke. Oh, topical karaoke. This is topical karaoke, where we combine the beautiful music of the roots with the equally beautiful words of people in the news. These are songs using actual quotes from newsmakers of today. So now let's meet our three audience contestants. Come on over. Nice to see you. How are you? Nice to see you. Nice to see you.

[Robert De Niro]

How are you?

[Jimmy Fallon]

What is your name and where are you from?

[Audience Member]

I'm Gabby and I'm from California.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Hey, Gabby, welcome to New York.

[Audience Member]

I'm Kinja from Connecticut.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Hey, Connecticut. Come on, look.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Jonathan from beautiful Rockland County, New York.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. That's what I'm talking about. All right, here we go. Here's how we play. You'll each see, stand with your back to the video wall in the back there and sing the words you see on the monitor in front of you. Okay. These will be actual quotes from people in the news. The words will change from white to yellow to help you follow along just like real karaoke. And at the end, we'll decide the winner based on audience applause. Yeah. So, Higgins, tell us what tonight's winner will be taking home. Well, Jimmy, tonight's winner will receive a brand new singing machine, portable karaoke system. Model number SML385. BTW, sing along with your favorite songs in the comfort of your own home. Includes a microphone and power cable. Jimmy. All right, that's a big prize. Thank you. All right, contestant number one, you're up. Remember that you can sing however you want. It's actually not a real song. It's just crazy quotes. So make sure you're singing and not talking, okay? Your song tonight is by President Trump. It's a quote about Ozempic. It's a quote of his about Ozempic. The song is called A Friend of Mine. There you go. All right, go take your place. Roots. Whenever you're ready, you can go for it.

[Audience Member]

A friend of mine who's slightly overweight, to put it mildly, went to a drugstore in London.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Audience Member]

And he was able to get one of those fat shots. Yeah, I call it the fat shot. He's a very rich guy, unlike me. His big problem is he's slightly overweight, but I don't know. I think the drug worked. Okay.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That was beautiful. Amazing performance. Amazing performance. Have a stand over there to the side. That was emotional. Yeah. Contestant number two, you are next. This song is by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. It's about all the recent troubles that they've been having at Newark Airport. And it is called the Equipment that we use. I remind you that all these are actual words that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy himself has said. Go, take your place, and good luck.

[Audience Member]

Equipment that we used, much of it, we can't buy parts for new. We have to go on ebay and buy parts. If one part goes down, you're dealing with really old equipment. We're dealing with copper wires, not fiber, not hyping fiber. And so this is concerning.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Fantastic, fantastic job. Last up, contestant number three. What is your name again?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Jonathan.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Jonathan, the pressure's on you. How are you feeling right now?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I have no idea.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No, you don't know how you're feeling? My brain is blank. No, you're blank because you're focused on singing this and what tune it's going to be. And you don't know what quote it's going to be.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

No idea.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You got anybody out there watching rooting for you?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

My lovely wife right up there.

[Jimmy Fallon]

All right, good. Perfect. A lot riding on here. You're going to get to what could end up being the song of the summer. It's by Elon Musk, and it's about his response to President Trump's big, beautiful bill. This is called I'm sorry. All right, there you go. Go over here. Reach the spot there and take us home. Good luck. I'm sorry, but I can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous pork congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it. You know you did wrong. You know it. Kill that bill. Unbelievable. A sitting ovation. Unbelievable. Come on over, everyone. Unbelievable. Great job, audience. Your applause will now determine our winner. Was it contestant number one, contestant number two or contestant number three? I'm gonna say it's contestant number three. Congratulations. That's amazing. Congratulations, buddy. There you have it, right? Congratulations. You have this to take home with you guys. You didn't win, but you were taking home a Tonight Show T shirt. So thank you for playing. Thank you for playing topical karaoke. We'll be right back with Robert De Niro, everybody. Congratulations. Our first guest has won multiple Oscars. He's one of the greatest actors of all time and he's a co founder of the Tribeca Festival, which is running through June 15th. You can get [e-mail] Everyone please welcome Robert De Niro. Come on. That's right. That's right. They love you.

[Robert De Niro]

Come on.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I gotta do it. Come on. Oh, my gosh. The one and only. Welcome back to the show. We love you. They love you. Clearly. We love you, too. Welcome back and thank you for being here. I also want to thank you. I always bring it up, but you were my first guest ever on late night. I'll never forget that. You did that. And you've been very great to us and loyal. We appreciate you coming back. The first time we did a bit together was back in 2000 on Weekend Update. Look at me and you.

[Robert De Niro]

Oh, boy.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. So we've been doing bits for 25 years, and then we ended up doing Saturday Night Live, 50th anniversary together. Here's us in the Debbie Downer sketch with IO Deborah Drew Barrymore, you and Rachel Dratch. Debbie Downer. Do you get nervous when you're doing that live? You didn't seem nervous.

[Robert De Niro]

No, I mean, it's fun. And you. And doing snl, you have to do it. So you have. Don't have time to think. So you. You're forced to say, look, I'll just enjoy it, go with it. And even if I make a mistake, it's. It's okay.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. When did you realize that. That you were funny?

[Robert De Niro]

Well, even when my mother told. Told me I was funny when I was a kid.

[Jimmy Fallon]

So that's about when you knew that was it? Yeah. Was it like Midnight Run or Something. What was the first.

[Robert De Niro]

Yeah. Midnight Run was. I read the script. I said, this is great. I'd love to do it. It'd be a lot of fun. And I had a lot of fun doing it. So I guess that's the first. Other than King of Comedy, the first movie. Comedy, whatever.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. Do you approach it the same way you approach drama?

[Robert De Niro]

In some ways it's the same. I mean, the thing is, even with the Debbie Downer thing, if you don't. I mean, I laughed at doing a rehearsal because it was very funny and watching her, she was great. But then when you do it, you got to do it straigh the humor is how serious you are.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Robert De Niro]

That's the thing that, that if you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Play the straight man. Yeah. Like here's you and Ben Stiller here. This. This li. This lie detector test that you did in the film was not in the original script.

[Robert De Niro]

No, no. It was a. I had some friends who were in the CIA and, and. And they told me they had to go through the lie. You know, the. The lie detective thing and that. How uncomfortable it made them feel. And so I said, well, I would understand. You know, of course it would be. But them telling me somehow just made an impact on me. And I thought, well, what about if we do that in the movie to Jay Roach? And they. They liked it, so.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And it became a classic scene. Yeah, I know you guys just had a reunion at the Tribeca Festival this past weekend. Congrats, by the way. The Tribeca Festival, by the way. It's going on now. Get [e-mail]. but this is going on for 24 years.

[Robert De Niro]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's amazing. Congratulations. That's amazing. And so now there's talk of you're doing another Meet the Parents, where you and Ben Stiller have signed on to do another Meet the Parents, which we're all psyched about. And rumor is that Ariana Grande is going to be in the film as well.

[Robert De Niro]

That's true. That's right. Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Do you know. Do you know Ariana?

[Robert De Niro]

No, but I did SNL with her years ago. Seven, eight years ago, I can't remember. And I. I met her. I didn't do something with her, but she was on the same show.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Robert De Niro]

And we talked and I introduced her. One of. One of my kids wanted to meet her, so set that up and to meet her.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, that's it. Definitely. That'll be great together. You also, if you go to the sports festival, which, by the way, I think I was at the first one with You. We might have done a bit together, but you and Jane Rosenthal put on this giant festival. It's so great for the city. And thank you so much for doing what you're doing. There's also talk. You were talking about Casino, which has been out. How many years has Casino been out? This is 30th anniversary of casino. Look at this guy. Come on. Yeah. So you're talking about this, and you talk with Scorsese, and you've done, I think, eight films with Martin Scorsese. Ten films. What was the best one he ever directed you in, do you think was the best direction?

[Robert De Niro]

They were always terrific. I always had good times with Marty. He just has a special way of working that makes it easy and. And not afraid to take a chance or try something and if it doesn't work, doesn't work, or he cuts it out or whatever. There's never been. It's always been great. I wish we could do a few more together. Hopefully at least one, maybe two. Who knows? But.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Got it.

[Robert De Niro]

Yeah. No, Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I mean, we also, our audience really want to know if they. Tonight, if they're watching, they want to go to bed after our show. You know, midnight, 12:30. They want to watch a Robert De Niro movie. What movie should they watch? And I thought this could be kind of interesting if we go through all of your movies.

[Robert De Niro]

Sure.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And you select and help the audience decide what Robert De Niro movie they should watch to tonight.

[Robert De Niro]

Okay.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Right. You heard this. All right. Out of the. Out of these two. Dirty Grandpa or Good Fellas. They're all good. They're all good films.

[Robert De Niro]

You're asking me?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yes, I'm asking. Yes, I'm. I'm talking to you. Yes.

[Robert De Niro]

I don't know.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Robert De Niro]

They're two different.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. Thanks for laughing. Which one? What do you think you're asking the audience? No, I'm asking you. I know. You got to choose. There's going to be more than these.

[Robert De Niro]

Well, it depends on what you're looking for.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Robert De Niro]

Goodfellas is a. Is a mob movie.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yep.

[Robert De Niro]

That's. I don't. I don't know. I don't know.

[Jimmy Fallon]

All right, so let's say. Let's say good. Good fellas. So for this round, goodfellas makes the round. Okay, Good fellas in now. Now, this one, this is a toughie. This is a toughie. Taxi Driver or Raging Bull?

[Robert De Niro]

I don't know. I don't know.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You have to make a decision.

[Robert De Niro]

You mean what I would recommend.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. To the audience watching tonight Well, I.

[Robert De Niro]

Probably have to take a kind of a consensus and ask.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, my God. We don't have time to take a consensus of the audience. How about this? Someone who's just. How about someone who's brand new to Robert De Niro? They don't know Robert De Niro. Which one should they.

[Robert De Niro]

Well, I'd have to know what kind of person they are.

[Jimmy Fallon]

They're a nice. A nice person. Really into. They're into. They're into cinema. They love good cinema. Ah.

[Robert De Niro]

Well, I. You know, they're both. I don't want to say good.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I mean, yes, they're both really good. Yes. We have to choose one. We're at the.

[Robert De Niro]

I mean, I know that if I was mad at one of my kids, I could threaten them with showing them Cape Fear.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No, but that's not one of the movies. No, no, this is Raging Bull and Taxi. That movie's not on the list. So this is. These are the two. We get to choose one. They're all great, and everyone wins.

[Robert De Niro]

Can you do a double bill like the Eastern?

[Jimmy Fallon]

No, no, no. They can only because then we're going to narrow it down further from these two. This was your first debut, right?

[Robert De Niro]

The big one? Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

So let's just say Taxi Driver. Okay. Is this right? All right, here we go. We got Meet the Parents versus Casino. This is tough.

[Robert De Niro]

Yeah. They're two different types of filling.

[Jimmy Fallon]

But yet we can only choose one to enjoy this evening with you. Oh, yeah. Maybe they're watching it with you. How about that? We make the change. The contest.

[Robert De Niro]

No, that'd make me feel worse.

[Jimmy Fallon]

All right, so let's not do that. Sorry. So they're not watching with you, but they're thinking of you.

[Robert De Niro]

Well, Meet the Parents is a comedy.

[Jimmy Fallon]

And, yes, I understand Casino is not a comedy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you have to pick one of these.

[Robert De Niro]

There's funny stuff in Casino. But Meet the Parents is a comedy. I don't know. I'd ask the people. Well, do you want to see a comedy or a serious movie?

[Jimmy Fallon]

If you want. All right, so what do we think saying Casino. Here we go. Casino. Here we go. That makes it into the final round. We're almost done. You're great at this game. You're really good at this game. Here we go. We have the Irishman, which I loved. Or The Godfather Part 2.

[Robert De Niro]

Yeah. I don't know. Maybe a double bill again.

[Jimmy Fallon]

No, no, no. You got it.

[Robert De Niro]

I don't know. I don't know. I'm not going to Godfather 2.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, perfect. But now we're down to. The game continues. We're the. We're down to four movies. Okay, so here's the first matchup. These are all. You have so many great movies. You know, I can't play this game with my movies because I only have one movie. All right, here we go. We have Goodfellas versus Taxi Driver. Audience. Goodfellas Casino or Godfather Part 2? Finally. Goodfellas or Godfather Part 2? The winner. Goodfellas. Come on and tell you something. Thank you so much for playing. You're fantastic at that game. Robert De Niro, everybody. The Tribeca festival is running through June 15th. You can get [e-mail] more tonight show after the break. Stick around. Our next guest is a five time Grammy winner and the highest selling comedy recording artist of all time. His Bigger and Weirder tour kicks off this Friday and tickets are [e-mail] Please welcome Weird Al Yankovic. Now that's how you make. Robert De Niro almost made the same entrance as you. He almost.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I have to say, I have to say thank you so much for having me on your Titans of American cinema theme show with Robert De Niro.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's exactly it. So is you. De Niro.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yeah. I'm so honored. We're either two people you thought of for the exact.

[Jimmy Fallon]

But look at you. The COVID boy right here.

[Robert De Niro]

Wow.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Billboard magazine, the COVID That's so cool.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

It's such a big deal to me. Cause, you know, I grew up, you know, you know, being obsessed with Billboard magazine. I did college radio. That was like the bible of the entertainment industry.

[Jimmy Fallon]

If you were in Billboard magazine, you made it. Yeah, but the first time you were in Billboard magazine, they misspelled your name.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

That's right. This was like 1979. I was in college and my bologna had just come out. My first ever single. Yeah, of course.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Oh, no. Sit down. Sit down, please. Everyone sit. Ryan, right?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

No, but what was crazy about that was they misspelled my name. And you think it would be like Yankovic or something like that? No, it was Weird Owl. O w L. I was a weird owl.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Weird owl. Yankovic. Almost sounds like a blues guy or something. Weird owl. Yankovic.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Blind Lemon. Weird owl.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. But still, you were psyched that you were in a magazine.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yeah, it was cool.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You're like, look, everybody, I'm famous.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I'm somebody kind of.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, I'm Weird Owl. Yeah, but this is when you're starting out and you're weird. I mean, obviously I've told you this already, but you're one of my idols, and I love you. Thank you so much. You made weird being cool, if I could say that correctly.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Well, yeah. That's nice.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I mean, there's good weird and bad weird, of course, but I like to think I'm the good kind.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

And, you know, it's a weird. I was a nickname that I got in college. I don't know why they thought I was weird somehow, but I.

[Jimmy Fallon]

What?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

You know, it's crazy.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Why would they think.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

But I kind of took it on as an empowering thing. And, you know, a decade or two into my career, I was thinking, like, gosh, did I make the right decision? I'm weird all my whole life now. But I've heard from so many kids that kind of looked up at me like, well, you know, people thought I was weird. I was kind of an outcast or an oddball in school. And the fact that you were, like, being Weird Al out there in the public eye and doing okay, that meant a lot to me. So it's nice to know.

[Jimmy Fallon]

But you were even weird in high school. And I'll show you this because you did things in a weird way. This is just in your local yearbook. You came up with a club. You know, there was, like, you know, different types of Spanish club. This. This is the Volcano Worshipers Club.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

The Volcano Worshipers. Yes.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Now, did that. Did this club exist?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

It did, but it did absolutely nothing.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Okay. See, but legally, it was a club.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I was gaming the system because I thought, you know, I want one more picture of me in the high school yearbook. So I said, no, we're a club. Take our picture.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. And what did the Volcano Worshipers Club do?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Absolutely nothing.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Okay. It was really dis. Zero. So everyone, we could be in the club if we wanted to. Yeah.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

We took the picture. And look, Hank. Club's dissolved.

[Jimmy Fallon]

We're done. That was it. Yeah, But I just love that you do that. And you go, you started there. You didn't change. You just stuck to what you believed in.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I started the Bob Nom here.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Look at you. Yeah. Look at what you've done. I mean, yeah. I mean, this massive, massive tour. Congratulations. Bigger and weirder. So huge. It is massive. Was there ever a white whale of parody songs of people that you've parodied that you go, oh, I've always wanted to do a parody of their song. I never got a chance.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Prince is, like, the one guy that was never into it, and he's got a good sense of humor. In fact, I heard, like, a bootleg recording of him in the studio talking to some prince. Oh, you gotta see this fat video. He makes fun of Michael Jackson. It was really funny.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, he loved that fat video. I've seen that.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

But when it came to, like, parodying one of his songs, not so much.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. He was like, no.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I had, like, half a dozen ideas that I pitched him and none of them got accepted. One of them, this killed me because I thought it was going to be really funny. It was like a parody of 1999 called 1999, except. Except it was like one of those, like, Ron Popeil late night infomercials.

[Jimmy Fallon]

You can get all that. 1999. There's more. Yeah. And you pitched it to him. He didn't even answer. He didn't even answer you.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Would you ever try to do something? No, No.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I mean. Cause, you know, he made his. I try to respect the wishes of the artist. And he still made his wishes very, very clear while he was with us.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. I gotta thank you because you and I did a song together with the Roots on my holiday album.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yes.

[Jimmy Fallon]

It's called New Year's Eve Polka. And I was so nervous to send it to you because I go, I have this idea because there's always all these New Year's songs are so depressing and sad. What if we did a happy, fun New Year's Eve song?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

You gotta have one polka song on every Christmas album.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Right. I think there has to be. Thank you. And so I sent it to. I was nervous to send it to you. And obviously I don't play the accordion or anything, but I just kind of did it on one of those, like, honer or whatever.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Little melodica.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah. And I sent it to you, and I didn't really hear back from you. And I go, oh, he hates this. It's all right. Al doesn't like it. That's fine. And then you send it back and you go, dude, I'm totally in. I love this. And then you're like, well, what do you think? You want to work on it? You want to write it together? I'm like, wait, this is amazing. So then you go, I would tweak this, I would tweak that. It was so easy and fun working with you. But then you arranged the whole thing, recorded it, did harmonies, added sound effects, and then you actually printed out musical notes of everything that I did. You're a genius, dude. And I loved it. I can't thank you enough. I had the best experience. And then the Roots Got involved and then the roots. I go, so you said yes. And I texted Quest. And I go, hey, would you ever want to do a song with Weird Al? And before he could even finish the sentence, he said, yes. He's like, yes. I'm like, weird.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Anybody?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yes. No. No. As soon as I say weird, I was like, yes, I'm in. Whatever it is, I'm in. And so we all got together and thank you so much. It's a dream come true. And it's a really fun thing ever. Now I want to see you on tour. This is happening. It's all happening soon. Starting In Las Vegas, June 13th.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

That's right.

[Jimmy Fallon]

@ the Venetian Theater. Yep.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yep.

[Jimmy Fallon]

What should fans expect from the the Bigger and Weirder tour?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Well, it will be bigger and weirder.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Okay, that's interesting. I didn't.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Well, the last tour that he did was the unfortunate return of the ridiculously self indulgent Ill Advised Vanity tour. And that was. That was a scaled back tour. It was literally just us, you know, sitting on stools and playing instruments. It was for, you know, for the hardcore fans in smaller theaters. This is the big show. This is the. The props and the costume changes and the, you know, the. The LED screens. And it's the big show again. And the band is twice as big. It's the same guys that were with me since the beginning of recorded history. And four more players, multi instrumentalists and horns and everything else. So it's a big band, big sound.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yes.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

And weirders and weirder.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I love it. That's what I'm talking about. And I saw these dates back here on August 30th. You're playing Inglewood. You're playing the Forum. Yes. And this is. The Forum was where Al Yankovic saw his first concert.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Yes. I was maybe 15 years old and I had a very protective upbringing, and my parents didn't want me to go to a rock show because it's like a whole arena full of bad influences, you know?

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, of course. Yeah.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Anyway, Elton John, and I was a big Elton John fan at the time. And yeah, I was up in the nosebleeds watching Elton through binoculars.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah, binoculars.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Cause they didn't have the imag screens at the time. You had to actually look through binoculars to see if their lips were moving.

[Jimmy Fallon]

So Elton John. That was your first. That's a great first concert.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

And now it's like, you know, a nice circle of life because now instead of being in the nosebleeds, now I'll be on stage. So I'll have the best seat in the house.

[Jimmy Fallon]

That's what I'm talking about. Isn't that wild? Yeah. You should dedicate a song to that kid up in the nosebleed. Like, who could be the next Weird Al? But then we also talked about this backstage. We were excited about this. July 12th, you are here in New York, New York, at Madison Square Garden.

[Robert De Niro]

Unbelievable.

[Jimmy Fallon]

But this is why it's cool, I.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Was gonna say, because I know your first concert was mine and you went to, like, I think in 1985. So one of my first shows. And back in the early to mid-80s when we sold the T shirts at Merch. At the shows, the back, instead of having real concert dates, we'd have funny, fake concert dates.

[Jimmy Fallon]

Yeah.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

And like, one of them. Yeah. That would never, ever happen. One of them was, like, madison Square Garden, which was funny at the time. Cause, like, this idiot's never gonna play Madison Square garden. And now, 40 short years later, here.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I am, he's playing Madison Square Garden. That's a big deal. It's bigger. And winner, winner, congrats.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Thank you.

[Jimmy Fallon]

I love you. Thank you. Shout out to your daughter, by the way, Nina graduated college. His daughter graduated college. Nina. Congratulations, Weird Al. Y' all give everybody. For tickets to the Bigger and Weirder tour, go to weirdow.com stick around. My thanks to Robert De Niro. We're to Al Yankovic, Walton Goggins, and the Roots right there from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Good night, everybody. Thank you. Get on up. 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 podcasts. Watch the Tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon, weeknights on NBC and streaming on Peacock.