A visit from Stranger Things‘ “Dips**t Derek,” he of the caustic cutdown, had The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon grappling with the bleep button.
Stranger Things newcomer Jake Connelly was among Monday’s Tonight Show guests, and given A) his character’s derisive nickname on the Netflix megahit and B), Derek’s go-to comeback, the NBC talker had some censorship calls to make.
In promoting Connelly’s appearance on social media, The Tonight Show presented a vignette in which the 13-year-old actor found his green room labeled “Dips**t Derek”—uncensored—and promptly changed it to “Delightful Derek.” (Fallon then passes by and changes the placard back to the expletive-laced version.)
For Connelly’s actual appearance on The Tonight Show, Fallon, unsurprisingly, went with the “Delightful” version of the Derek’s nickname when introducing the Stranger Things newcomer.
When Connelly twice cited Derek’s “Suck my fat one!” catchphrase—including the actor’s impression of South Park‘s Cartman hurling the R-rated directive at Fallon—the NBC broadcast bleeped the first word, as seen below.
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) December 16, 2025
But on the YouTube clip of Connelly’s Tonight Show hit, the catchphrase was left untouched. (See video up top.)
Fallon’s month-long parade of Stranger Things final-season guests continues Tuesday night with original cast member Finn Wolfhard, followed by series creators Matt and Ross Duffer (on Wednesday), and Caleb McLaughlin (Thursday).
Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2 hits Netflix Christmas Day, while the 125-minute series finale premieres New Year’s Eve (on the streamer as well as in select theaters).
