Jimmy Fallon Covered Prince During the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Not Everyone Was Thrilled

November 25, 2017, 11:34am

Jimmy Fallon and The Roots took a ride on the Gibson float at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and their song choice is getting a mixed reception.

Of course, many were thrilled by the performance of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” Big fans of Prince, Fallon, and both took to Twitter immediately to share their elation.

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AAHHH AMAZING!! 😍🎉 #MacysParade
— cath♣️ (@catheb) November 23, 2017

Jimmy Fallon and The Roots covering Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” is, hands down, the highlight of the #MacysDayParade. He’s having so much fun!
— ZACH JOHNSON (@zmjohnson) November 23, 2017

Still, there were plenty of people who didn’t think this was one of Fallon’s best impressions, and they let their disapproval be heard.

I have some kind of feelings about hearing Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” as sung by Jimmy Fallon. 😒 At least The Roots were there. #MacysParade
— Jennifer C. Martin (@notreallyjcm) November 23, 2017

Exec 1: “Hey, we got The Roots to perform a Prince song at the #MacysParade!”

Exec 2: “Cool … but what if we had Jimmy Fallon sing vocals?”
— Bill Kuchman (@billkuchman) November 23, 2017

Jimmy Fallon performing Prince in a jokey way is all kinds of wrong.
— Uncommon Nasa (@UncommonNasa) November 23, 2017

As I watch Jimmy Fallon ruin “Let’s Go Crazy,” I’m thankful that Prince isn’t alive to see this.
— Grant Pardee (@grantpa) November 23, 2017

The Roots are allowed to cover Prince. More than allowed. Jimmy Fallon is not.
— Jen Chaney (@chaneyj) November 23, 2017

Fallon has built a career on impressions — especially musical ones. Since his days at Saturday Night Live he’s been impersonating famous singers, many of them with eerie accuracy. Some of his most viral clips from The Tonight Show have been his impressions, including his duet with Bruce Springsteen where they sang Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair,” with Fallon performing as Neil Young. Unfortunately, it seems like this most recent Prince impersonation missed its mark.