Jimmy Fallon Finally Talks About Ruffling Trump's Hair: 'I Was Devastated'

Jimmy Fallon finally addressed his infamous interview with Donald Trump on "The Tonight Show."

Back in September 2016, Fallon had Trump -- then just the Republican nominee -- come on his show.

Rather than ask him pressing questions about his views on, like, women or refugees or health care or education or climate change, Fallon goofed around with Trump.

This led to a harsh round of criticism against Fallon, a straight white man in a position of power, for letting the controversial candidate off easy.

The most notable part of this appearance was when Fallon reached over and ruffled Trump's hair. Trump gave a little grin as he did so.

You can watch it in all its cringe here:

Fallon, whose livelihood was not threatened by a Trump presidency, was criticized for "humanizing" him with that ruffle.

In other words, Fallon made Trump seem like a totally chill dude, and not someone who wanted to kick Muslims out of the country and take away women's access to necessary health services and so on.

Fallon finally spoke about the September episode in an interview with the New York Times published on Wednesday.

"I didn't do it to humanize him," Fallon asserted. "I almost did it to minimize him. I didn't think that would be a compliment: 'He did the thing that we all wanted to do.'"

Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of "The Tonight Show," told the Times that the softness of the interview happened in part because they did not think Trump would win the election.

So, you know, may as well have some chill times with the dude who called Mexican immigrants "rapists" and "killers."

Fallon was, like, really hurt by the backlash to him making a man who believes he can "grab [women] by the pussy" look sweet.

He told the Times he reached a point where it got so bad he couldn't even read Twitter, the news, or the internet.

Fallon said it hurt because he's a "people pleaser."

"If there's one bad thing on Twitter about me, it will make me upset. So, after this happened, I was devastated. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just trying to have fun," Fallon said.

Fallon said he "regrets" not explaining himself to viewers after the criticism, but at the same time, "people that voted for Trump watch my show as well."

Everyone go ahead and pour a little out for Fallon's hurt feelings. Sure sounds tough.

Citations: Jimmy Fallon under fire for 'humanizing' Donald Trump (SF Gate), Jimmy Fallon Was on Top of the World. Then Came Trump. (New York Times)