Jimmy Fallon Accused of Reusing ‘South Park’ Fish‑Sticks Joke on Tonight Show

Jimmy Fallon faced criticism after his Tuesday monologue on The Tonight Show featured a joke about a man who set a UK record by swallowing 15 fish sticks in a minute. Announcer Steve Higgins reacted with a disgusted comment, prompting laughter from the studio audience. Viewers quickly pointed out that the punchline closely resembled the iconic 2009 South Park episode “Fishsticks,” where Cartman builds a word‑play joke about fish sticks and a “gay fish.” Social‑media posts on X highlighted the similarity and revived discussion of the original sketch, which also referenced Kanye West.

The resemblance sparked debate over whether Fallon or his writers intentionally borrowed the premise. Neither Fallon nor NBC issued a comment, and the incident remains a point of online contention about originality in late‑night comedy.