Conor McGregor is a mixed martial artist who is most notably known for being the only UFC fighter to hold UFC championships in two weight classes at the same time. Despite his successful career, McGregor has been the focal figure of multiple controversies, especially a sexual assault case that took place in 2018.
Conor McGregor was a guest on a recent episode of The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon. Now both McGregor and the show are getting hate for his appearance.
Conor McGregor’s Jimmy Fallon show appearance went wrong
Netizens aren’t happy that The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon invited Conor McGregor to the show. This is because he was accused of sexual assault and r*pe by Nikita Hand back in 2019, and was recently found liable for the same.
Fallon and his show are known for the healthy and respectful way they talk to guests and address several issues. Netizens have thus found it to be insensitive that the show invited a person (irrespective of his fame) who allegedly sexually assaulted someone. Moreover, Connor’s comment about how his fighter name is The Notorious because he
“… had a habit of getting into trouble when I was younger a little bit, and my coach had me saved in the phone as “Trouble,” actually.”
doesn’t help the case either. To the viewers, it appears as if McGregor is completely ignorant of how badly his ‘Trouble’ attitude has traumatized others. To understand why viewers are upset, one needs to know what the controversy was.
In 2019, Nikita Hand had accused Conor McGregor of assaulting and r*ping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018. At the time, the Irish Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had decided not to criminally prosecute McGregor since there wasn’t enough evidence against him.
Hand had then filed a civil case against him, and McGregor had denied the allegations consistently. He maintained his stance that any sexual activity that took place between him and Hand was consensual. The civil trial took place in Dublin’s High Court in November 2024.
After assessing the evidence, the jury concluded that McGregor was liable for the r*pe and sexual assault of Nikita Hand. While it doesn’t mean the same as proven guilty, it doesn’t absolve him of the accusations either.
McGregor was ordered to pay nearly €250,000 in damages, along with more legal costs. He then announced that he was planning on challenging the jury’s verdict, but his appeals were unsuccessful. In July 2025, Ireland’s Court of Appeal upheld the original verdict, and in December 2025, the Supreme Court refused to hear a further appeal, which is where the case ended.
The verdict had significantly affected McGregor’s public image (or it seemed) and business partnerships. Viewers of The Tonight Show are surprised and concerned that, despite the severity of the accusations and the civil case’s conclusion, Conor McGregor was invited to the show.
The fact that someone who was liable to sexual assault is being given a public platform to talk about his career and family as if nothing happened is what is troubling viewers. The Tonight Show or Jimmy Fallon hasn’t addressed the issue yet. Stay tuned for more updates.
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Edited by Riddhee