“It’s Gross”: Jimmy Fallon Faces Backlash After “Misgendering” Actress Hunter Schafer In Interview
Jimmy Fallon has been the subject of controversy this past week, as he seemingly inappropriately nicknamed one of his latest guests to appear on his live show.
Last Friday (November 17), Hunter Schafer sat on The Tonight Show couch across from host Jimmy, as she came to promote her new movie, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
While being interviewed, the model-turned-actress opened up about her appreciation for the franchise, which she had been a fan of ever since childhood.
Jimmy held up a picture of Hunter as a child, dressed in a capitol-inspired costume for Halloween.
Jimmy Fallon called Hunter Schafer “bud” on The Tonight Show, stirring some heated debates online
Image credits: jimmyfallon
Image credits: jimmyfallon
The 24-year-old Euphoria star recalled: “For Halloween, I was obsessed with how the capitol people were in costume and made my own costume.”
The adorable memory prompted Jimmy to reply in excitement: “Oh bud, it’s unbelievable!
“This is really cool, now you’re in Hunger Games — as a capitol person!”
Hunter agreed as she replied: “It’s crazy.”
Hunter was promoting her new movie, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Image credits: hunterschafer
Image credits: hunterschafer
As Jimmy held up another picture, this time a new promotional photograph of Hunter as her Hunger Games character, he exclaimed: “Look at you! Congratulations, bud!”
The 49-year-old TV personality’s repeated use of the noun “bud”, derived from “buddy”, used synonymously for the words “friend” or “companion”, sparked outrage online.
“Oh bud, it’s unbelievable!” Jimmy told Hunter in reaction to her childhood picture
Image credits: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Image credits: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
While Hunter didn’t appear to be affected in any way during the interview, some viewers rushed to social media to express their anger.
As Hunter is an openly transgender woman, some individuals thought that the use of “bud” might’ve been a form of misgendering, as some believe that ‘buddy’ has a masculine significance.
As Hunter is an openly transgender woman, some individuals thought that the use of “bud” might’ve been a form of misgendering
Image credits: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
In a now-deleted post on X (formerly known as Twitter), which was captured by BuzzFeed, a person shared a TikTok video of The Tonight Show’s segment with Hunter, captioning it: “Jimmy Fallon calling Hunter Schafer ‘bud’, I am going to [redacted].”
According to the publication, the post received 1.5 million views in less than 24 hours, and racked up thousands of likes and retweets, with many sharing their agreement in the quote-tweets.
You can watch the segment below:
The host’s term was deemed “male-coded” by some people
as if i didn’t have reason enough to hate Fallon, he takes this opportunity to show that he doesn’t see Hunter as the beautiful, immaculate queen sitting before him
to my cis readers, i hope you don’t see this as an overreaction—bud/buddy is unquestionably male-coded https://t.co/gzrf9cIHCk
— TheAverageGirlLovesFall 🍁🏳️⚧️ (@thearae60) November 20, 2023
A person commented: “As if I didn’t have reason enough to hate Fallon, he takes this opportunity to show that he doesn’t see Hunter as the beautiful, immaculate queen sitting before him.”
Another individual wrote: “To my cis readers, I hope you don’t see this as an overreaction — bud/buddy is unquestionably male-coded.”
i literally cant stand it when people call me bud. it’s so degrading and it really shows that they dont see me(or hunter or any trans woman rly) as a woman!! bud isnt something you say to girls im sorry https://t.co/yrlifG34BT
— local girl (@annelisemako) November 19, 2023
“bud is gender neutral”
a slight minority of people might say it in a gender neutral way. but you obviously know it’s used exclusively for men most the time.
even if Hunter isn’t bothered, it’s still gross and telling of how Fallon views trans women. https://t.co/qRvY1CpQfu
— dollarhyfttnf (@dollarnuftynuf) November 19, 2023
@jimmyfallon It feels like a perfect night. @Taylor Swift #RedTaylorsVersion ♬ original sound – Jimmy Fallon
It wasn’t long before other viewers pointed to the fact that Jimmy has a verifiable history of continuously calling his guests, female celebrities included, “bud”.
In a TikTok shared by The Tonight Show, Taylor Swift made an appearance along with Jimmy, as he knocked on the musician’s dressing room door.
The host was then filmed saying: “Hey bud! So excited, 10 minutes to show time!”
Jimmy has a verifiable history of calling his female guests “bud”
The former SNL comedian has also been filmed calling Selena Gomez and Dew Barrymore “bud” in older interviews.
In addition to calling his guests “bud”, Jimmy has also called Ariana Grande “pal”, Jennifer Lawrence “dude” and even “man”.
According to Dictionary, buddy, pal, mate, champ, and boss are all gender-neutral words, although they have been traditionally applied to men and boys.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is currently playing in movie theaters.
Hunter plays the young version of Tigris Snow, the cousin of Coriolanus Snow and an old acquaintance of Cressida and Plutarch Heavensbee who resides in the Capitol.
Tigris goes on to become a prized stylist in the sequels of the Hunger Games.
The Tonight Show’s segment with Jimmy and Hunter sparked divided opinions
Meh, this is a stretch. Just treating her like all his other guests and isn't that the whole point?
Uh, and seriously, "bud" is now "masculine only"? Sorry, no. I live in Southern California and EVERYONE is called "dude" or "bro", regardless of gender or lack thereof. Everyone calls each other dude, bro, guy, and/or buddy. I call my sister "dude" often. ("Dude, what are you EATING?") I have also called her "bro". ("That's not a good idea, bro.") My female friend and I often call each other "bro". "Bud" isn't super-common vernacular in SoCal, but "buddy" is. I don't see how "bud" is even REMOTELY "masculine only". I think, in this case, Fallon would have called ANY guest "bud".
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The only person allowed to have an opinion on this sat there and didn't seem to mind. Hunter Schafer is an adult person. She can talk for herself. Getting riled up about something she obviously didn't mind is infantilizing her, as if she can't take care of herself and has no right to decide how she wants to be called. So the only people here who showed any disrespect were the people trying to make this into a thing, while the person it concerns hasn't asked them to.
The world is a joke now. This is embarrassing people are offended by this.
bro what💀 people want to get offended by anything these days. bud, dude, whatever, its just a nice nickname to a friend.
To a room of men and women coworkers: “what do you guys want for lunch?” Oops - one of them is trans. What are you eating for lunch? Crow at HR.
Remember that thread yesterday where it listed all the things that annoyed millenials and it was just a bunch of stuff that annoys boomers as well? This reminds me a little of that. Just a bunch of people pearl-clutching.
If he never called other female guest "bud" there might be something here, but he clearly does use that term for everyone.
This policing of language needs to chill. Taking anything anyone says at its worst possible meaning and using that to fuel an outrage. This isn't helping trans people.
It's wild how a lot of people have leaned so far into acceptance and whatnot that they've flipped around and rediscovered moral puritanism. Yes, I can see how it COULD bother a trans woman, absolutely, but that's up to her, isn't it? We can't be perfect 100% of the time, and getting offended on behalf of someone else over something like this just dilutes the struggles trans people actually go through.
Especially since this is a thing he already has done with cis women.
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Oh my god really? Some people need to get a life. Getting offended on EVERYTHING! This is so ridiculous. Sorry (but not sorry) all these trans freaks need to get over it. It's not directed at you personally.
If she's comfortable with it she's comfortable with it. If she's not for whatever reason respect it
Note to self: stop calling women "bud". Didn't know that was male-specific at all, pardon my ignorance.
You're not ignorant, people are just hyper sensitive and look for any reason to claim they are offended
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I use "guys" collectively to everyone... oops?? Like, "what are you guys doing this weekend?" Buddy doesn't seem offensive to me. This is dumb.
I'm sorry if this is a little bit off topic, but has anyone seen the movie yet? I recently finished reading the book and it was really good, but idk if I should watch the movie or no.
Are people going to start taking a big issue with a group of girls being called "guys". The only time it's offensive is when someone is clearly misgendering with clear intentions of insulting. But that would only be offensive to the targeted person. Not every person of that gender.
Everyone having to find a reason to be offended about something? Bruh, bro, dude, bud, whatever. All gender neutral. 🤦♀️
Seriously? Buddy is now masculine? I call everyone my buddy, regardless of gender! People need to have some slack. What next, I can’t call any males my friend?
The saddest thing nowadays is, that some morality heroes see the need to be more pc than pc. Don't pick fights in the name of impacted ppl, because you just want to be pc. Let them speak for themselves!
Just another example of how overly sensitive everyone and everything is. The world needs tonight up, and not try to find a way to be offended by everything.
It seems like people who can't get attention on their own keep trying to get attention on other people's behalf.
Oh c'mon. How many times have females been called "dude"? I'm sure Fallon didn't mean anything by the term. That is obviously a "masculine" term as well but has somehow found it's way to become neutral. This is by far a stretch for someone to complain about imo.
Oooh the irony. You can't place a gender on a person, but somehow otherwise non-gendered words now need to be gendered. What are we, French?
Arguments like these are the most ridiculous think ever. Its like saying that I can't call my female friends 'guys' because technically a 'guy' is a man.
At this point these idiots are just looking for things to be offended by. Go f*** yourselves. God knows nobody else wants to.
Life used to be simple and fun before I had to start walking on eggshells around EVERYONE. People are too serious and need to learn how to relax. Second, the reason people like being "offended" is because it gives them a power-trip over others and makes them feel "better than" the one who said something as benign as "bud". I remember the 80's and 90's when people were not so serious about every little comment and still got along. One could joke and say so and so got on my nerves and now I want to kill them. We knew they didn't mean it literally, but these days you would have a swat team called to the person's house and local schools shutdown. The point: stop overthinking everything and being ultra-sensitive. Stop making life too complicated for yourself and others. Take care.
What’s wrong with the word « bud »? And these people upset just because he used this word should stop always attacking everybody on every word. Then they wonder why there is so much hate for them… gender neutral or transgender doesn’t exist. You can change your body but not your chromosomes. And all this LHBTQ+ thing/trend starts to be dictatorial and very very confusing for other people.
Using scientifically Cally version from able biologically appropriate pronouns and descriptive terms is not misgendering a person. Calling a biology cap male by nin male terms is misgendering. Orwell I s turning in his grave. Science isn't a hate crime. If we want to reclaim sanity in our society we must absolutely own the terms of our language. No intuitions social engineering must be allowed to dictate these lies to us no more. For examples. No doctor arbitrarily assessment gns a child a gender. The doctor simply observes the obvious biological GENitalia fact and documents it. Noone is s banning trans from sports or bathrooms or other venues when we demand you partake with the sex of your 📖 fic fact of your reality. Saying so is all lies. Using 📖 gicalky appropriate pronouns isn't an act of aggression it's an act of sanity. Ok. Furthermore defending the welfare of children and the safe spaces and venues set aside for REAL females isn't hating queers
"Interpreted as 'male coded' by some viewers". Has this been confirmed by the person saying it, or just the third party hearing it and making assumptions. If she wasn't offended (and in the interview it doesn't appear so, and she hasn't said so), then the faux outrage squads need to get their heads out of each other's cavities.
it's hard to say what the intent was behind this. it DOES feel like he probably wouldn't use that term for other women. however, as an example, despite being British and not a surfer type. my husband has got a bit of a habit of calling pretty much everyone "Dude" men, women, children, dogs, cats, the lot. yes, it's generally considered a male term, but it is one people use interchangeably. there's someone in our local supermarket who we have seen undergo their transition in the time we've been going there, and after one interaction he came out absolutely cringing because he called her Dude. he calls lots of women Dude. but he had the good sense to realise that for her it might feel like misgendering, whereas when he's talking to me or my female friends and so on, none of us are going to think he's implying we're male. we know it's just a word he uses for everyone. he's self aware enough that he tries not to accidentally call people he knows to be trans women "Dude"
This whole thing is at best a huge exaggeration, at worst an outright farce. I could care less about Fallon specifically, but this is a contrived controversy. First of all, if there is a slight, let’s give the woman who was the recipient the agency to decide if it was such. Second, intent is relevant, whether people want to believe it or not. Third, “bud” is gender neutral, not based just on some rule in a book, but because the speaker in this case uses it consistently in that way. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I for one - and many people I’m guessing - had zero clue that this person was transgender…until this article about the manufactured outrage of strangers. So, who’s doing more to obfuscate her identity? Cases like this are maddening, not only because they are not really about the “victim,” but more about the pontificating herd on social media, but also because they help to soften real insults and prejudiced behaviors against individuals.
This is so stupid. Shouldnt even be worth an article. Bud means buddy/friend. Peoples insecurities are their own problem to deal with. No one cares about your hypersensitive feelings.
I call my (female) friends bro and dude all the time. Like others have said, Jimmy calls everyone bud.
I am female, hetero, and have said dude and bud to females of all types. I'm all down with "damn the patriarchy" but this is extreme. And don't trans people have bigger issues than this to fret about? If trans identity means whining is your whole identity, develop thicker skin and a personality.
We call two people, of the opposite sex or otherwise, that have a friendship with benefits "fückbuddies".
Does also say actor as opposed to actRESS but I consider actor as gender non-specific anyway....
I think this is an overreaction, if Hunter is okay with being called bud and Jimmy is not purposely trying to misgender her I think it is fine, it is good to ask a trans person if they are fine with being called certain gendered terms but it's okay if you forget.
Hysterical. Snow flakes find it so necessary to create controversy where none exist and then "run to the rescue" of the alleged victim. Thats what happens when you live in a woke world. Poor Jimmy.
Now, I'm going to trust the people who knows more than me and say I will make sure to never use bud for a trans woman/nonbinary person. BUT, I did think it was gender-neutral my whole life.
He calls all he guests (m/f) who are younger than he is bud/buddy. So this is much ado about nothing.
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Meh, this is a stretch. Just treating her like all his other guests and isn't that the whole point?
Uh, and seriously, "bud" is now "masculine only"? Sorry, no. I live in Southern California and EVERYONE is called "dude" or "bro", regardless of gender or lack thereof. Everyone calls each other dude, bro, guy, and/or buddy. I call my sister "dude" often. ("Dude, what are you EATING?") I have also called her "bro". ("That's not a good idea, bro.") My female friend and I often call each other "bro". "Bud" isn't super-common vernacular in SoCal, but "buddy" is. I don't see how "bud" is even REMOTELY "masculine only". I think, in this case, Fallon would have called ANY guest "bud".
Load More Replies... The only person allowed to have an opinion on this sat there and didn't seem to mind. Hunter Schafer is an adult person. She can talk for herself. Getting riled up about something she obviously didn't mind is infantilizing her, as if she can't take care of herself and has no right to decide how she wants to be called. So the only people here who showed any disrespect were the people trying to make this into a thing, while the person it concerns hasn't asked them to.
The world is a joke now. This is embarrassing people are offended by this.
bro what💀 people want to get offended by anything these days. bud, dude, whatever, its just a nice nickname to a friend.
To a room of men and women coworkers: “what do you guys want for lunch?” Oops - one of them is trans. What are you eating for lunch? Crow at HR.
Remember that thread yesterday where it listed all the things that annoyed millenials and it was just a bunch of stuff that annoys boomers as well? This reminds me a little of that. Just a bunch of people pearl-clutching.
If he never called other female guest "bud" there might be something here, but he clearly does use that term for everyone.
This policing of language needs to chill. Taking anything anyone says at its worst possible meaning and using that to fuel an outrage. This isn't helping trans people.
It's wild how a lot of people have leaned so far into acceptance and whatnot that they've flipped around and rediscovered moral puritanism. Yes, I can see how it COULD bother a trans woman, absolutely, but that's up to her, isn't it? We can't be perfect 100% of the time, and getting offended on behalf of someone else over something like this just dilutes the struggles trans people actually go through.
Especially since this is a thing he already has done with cis women.
Load More Replies... Oh my god really? Some people need to get a life. Getting offended on EVERYTHING! This is so ridiculous. Sorry (but not sorry) all these trans freaks need to get over it. It's not directed at you personally.
If she's comfortable with it she's comfortable with it. If she's not for whatever reason respect it
Note to self: stop calling women "bud". Didn't know that was male-specific at all, pardon my ignorance.
You're not ignorant, people are just hyper sensitive and look for any reason to claim they are offended
Load More Replies... I use "guys" collectively to everyone... oops?? Like, "what are you guys doing this weekend?" Buddy doesn't seem offensive to me. This is dumb.
I'm sorry if this is a little bit off topic, but has anyone seen the movie yet? I recently finished reading the book and it was really good, but idk if I should watch the movie or no.
Are people going to start taking a big issue with a group of girls being called "guys". The only time it's offensive is when someone is clearly misgendering with clear intentions of insulting. But that would only be offensive to the targeted person. Not every person of that gender.
Everyone having to find a reason to be offended about something? Bruh, bro, dude, bud, whatever. All gender neutral. 🤦♀️
Seriously? Buddy is now masculine? I call everyone my buddy, regardless of gender! People need to have some slack. What next, I can’t call any males my friend?
The saddest thing nowadays is, that some morality heroes see the need to be more pc than pc. Don't pick fights in the name of impacted ppl, because you just want to be pc. Let them speak for themselves!
Just another example of how overly sensitive everyone and everything is. The world needs tonight up, and not try to find a way to be offended by everything.
It seems like people who can't get attention on their own keep trying to get attention on other people's behalf.
Oh c'mon. How many times have females been called "dude"? I'm sure Fallon didn't mean anything by the term. That is obviously a "masculine" term as well but has somehow found it's way to become neutral. This is by far a stretch for someone to complain about imo.
Oooh the irony. You can't place a gender on a person, but somehow otherwise non-gendered words now need to be gendered. What are we, French?
Arguments like these are the most ridiculous think ever. Its like saying that I can't call my female friends 'guys' because technically a 'guy' is a man.
At this point these idiots are just looking for things to be offended by. Go f*** yourselves. God knows nobody else wants to.
Life used to be simple and fun before I had to start walking on eggshells around EVERYONE. People are too serious and need to learn how to relax. Second, the reason people like being "offended" is because it gives them a power-trip over others and makes them feel "better than" the one who said something as benign as "bud". I remember the 80's and 90's when people were not so serious about every little comment and still got along. One could joke and say so and so got on my nerves and now I want to kill them. We knew they didn't mean it literally, but these days you would have a swat team called to the person's house and local schools shutdown. The point: stop overthinking everything and being ultra-sensitive. Stop making life too complicated for yourself and others. Take care.
What’s wrong with the word « bud »? And these people upset just because he used this word should stop always attacking everybody on every word. Then they wonder why there is so much hate for them… gender neutral or transgender doesn’t exist. You can change your body but not your chromosomes. And all this LHBTQ+ thing/trend starts to be dictatorial and very very confusing for other people.
Using scientifically Cally version from able biologically appropriate pronouns and descriptive terms is not misgendering a person. Calling a biology cap male by nin male terms is misgendering. Orwell I s turning in his grave. Science isn't a hate crime. If we want to reclaim sanity in our society we must absolutely own the terms of our language. No intuitions social engineering must be allowed to dictate these lies to us no more. For examples. No doctor arbitrarily assessment gns a child a gender. The doctor simply observes the obvious biological GENitalia fact and documents it. Noone is s banning trans from sports or bathrooms or other venues when we demand you partake with the sex of your 📖 fic fact of your reality. Saying so is all lies. Using 📖 gicalky appropriate pronouns isn't an act of aggression it's an act of sanity. Ok. Furthermore defending the welfare of children and the safe spaces and venues set aside for REAL females isn't hating queers
"Interpreted as 'male coded' by some viewers". Has this been confirmed by the person saying it, or just the third party hearing it and making assumptions. If she wasn't offended (and in the interview it doesn't appear so, and she hasn't said so), then the faux outrage squads need to get their heads out of each other's cavities.
it's hard to say what the intent was behind this. it DOES feel like he probably wouldn't use that term for other women. however, as an example, despite being British and not a surfer type. my husband has got a bit of a habit of calling pretty much everyone "Dude" men, women, children, dogs, cats, the lot. yes, it's generally considered a male term, but it is one people use interchangeably. there's someone in our local supermarket who we have seen undergo their transition in the time we've been going there, and after one interaction he came out absolutely cringing because he called her Dude. he calls lots of women Dude. but he had the good sense to realise that for her it might feel like misgendering, whereas when he's talking to me or my female friends and so on, none of us are going to think he's implying we're male. we know it's just a word he uses for everyone. he's self aware enough that he tries not to accidentally call people he knows to be trans women "Dude"
This whole thing is at best a huge exaggeration, at worst an outright farce. I could care less about Fallon specifically, but this is a contrived controversy. First of all, if there is a slight, let’s give the woman who was the recipient the agency to decide if it was such. Second, intent is relevant, whether people want to believe it or not. Third, “bud” is gender neutral, not based just on some rule in a book, but because the speaker in this case uses it consistently in that way. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I for one - and many people I’m guessing - had zero clue that this person was transgender…until this article about the manufactured outrage of strangers. So, who’s doing more to obfuscate her identity? Cases like this are maddening, not only because they are not really about the “victim,” but more about the pontificating herd on social media, but also because they help to soften real insults and prejudiced behaviors against individuals.
This is so stupid. Shouldnt even be worth an article. Bud means buddy/friend. Peoples insecurities are their own problem to deal with. No one cares about your hypersensitive feelings.
I call my (female) friends bro and dude all the time. Like others have said, Jimmy calls everyone bud.
I am female, hetero, and have said dude and bud to females of all types. I'm all down with "damn the patriarchy" but this is extreme. And don't trans people have bigger issues than this to fret about? If trans identity means whining is your whole identity, develop thicker skin and a personality.
We call two people, of the opposite sex or otherwise, that have a friendship with benefits "fückbuddies".
Does also say actor as opposed to actRESS but I consider actor as gender non-specific anyway....
I think this is an overreaction, if Hunter is okay with being called bud and Jimmy is not purposely trying to misgender her I think it is fine, it is good to ask a trans person if they are fine with being called certain gendered terms but it's okay if you forget.
Hysterical. Snow flakes find it so necessary to create controversy where none exist and then "run to the rescue" of the alleged victim. Thats what happens when you live in a woke world. Poor Jimmy.
Now, I'm going to trust the people who knows more than me and say I will make sure to never use bud for a trans woman/nonbinary person. BUT, I did think it was gender-neutral my whole life.
He calls all he guests (m/f) who are younger than he is bud/buddy. So this is much ado about nothing.
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