Jimmy Fallon took a few shots at Rudy Giuliani on Monday night, mocking the Trump aide for how upset he’s been since he was slapped on the back by a stranger. By Fallon’s account, the incident was barely even a slap – especially compared to the Will Smith–Chris Rock Oscars slap heard ’round the world earlier this year.
On Sunday, while at a supermarket in Staten Island campaigning for his son’s gubernatorial bid, Giuliani was slapped on the back by an employee, who allegedly said, “What’s up, scumbag?,” as he passed. According to the former New York City mayor, the blow felt “like somebody shot me” and, if he wasn’t in such good shape for his age, “I’d have hit the ground and probably cracked my skull.”
During his monologue, Fallon played the security footage released from the incident, and was a bit dumbstruck.
“That was it?” Fallon said. “He thinks that was a slap? Clearly Rudy didn’t see this year’s Oscars.”
That said, the “Tonight Show” host then admitted that he can totally understand why Giuliani got as upset as he did, and pushed for the man to be prosecuted.
“It makes sense that he freaked out,” Fallon conceded. “It’s been 20 years since Rudy got a pat on the back, you know what I’m saying?”
You can watch Jimmy Fallon’s full monologue in the video above.
Indeed, the man who slapped Giuliani is facing charges. Daniel Gill was charged with assault with intent to cause physical injury, harassment in the second degree and menacing in the third degree during a court appearance on Monday.
“The charges facing Daniel Gill, who has no previous contact with the criminal legal system, are inconsistent with existing law,” the Legal Aid Society, which is representing Gill, said in a statement. “Our client merely patted Mr. Giuliani, who sustained nothing remotely resembling physical injuries, without malice to simply get his attention, as the video footage clearly showed.”
The statement added, “Given Mr. Giuliani’s obsession with seeing his name in the press and his demonstrated propensity to distort the truth, we are happy to correct the record on exactly what occurred over the weekend on Staten Island.”
