"Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon says he called New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie before performing the bridge-gate parody with Christie's musical hero Bruce Springsteen.
Fallon told TV critics in Pasadena he "really thought about" how Christie is a big Springsteen fan before deciding to do the song poking fun of Christie's traffic scandal, the
New York Daily News reports.
"And he has been on the show," Fallon noted of Christie.
Though he knew it would likely hurt Christie's feelings, Fallon opted to perform the parody, based on Springsteen's "Born to Run" because, he said, it was funny.
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Springsteen was the sole guest the night of Jan. 14, and sang two songs with his E Street Band in addition to a sit-down interview and the bit with Fallon where both men dressed as Springsteen in the 1980s, complete with headband.
The parody song changed the words to focus on a person who was stuck in the traffic jam caused by Christie's aides. The action is believed to have been political payback against the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., for not endorsing Christie's re-election bid.
Fallon says he has not heard back from Christie, who says he has been to more than 100 Springsteen concerts.
The New York Times reports that Christie
cannot bring himself to watch the parody, though his college-age son, Andrew, has told him it was funny.
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