The Two-Second Word That Landed Jimmy Fallon in a Storm of Social Media Criticism with Trans Icon Hunter Schafer.NH
Jimmy Fallon (R) has faced backlash for using the phrase. (The Tonight Show)
Fans have expressed dismay after Jimmy Fallon called trans actress Hunter Schafer “bud” live on air.
Jimmy Fallon used the informal noun while talking to Schafer, on The Tonight Show on Friday (31 October), about her performance as Tigris Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. He showed a picture of her as a child, pre-transition, wearing a costume inspired by the books on which the films are based.
He then compared it with a still of her in the film, saying: “Congratulations, bud.”
Hunter Schafer went from dressing as a Capitol person for Halloween as a kid to being an actual Capitol person in @TheHungerGames: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes! #HungerGames #FallonFlashback pic.twitter.com/oaIn9f8BdW— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) October 31, 2025
His use of the word prompted criticism from several trans people online including journalist India Willoughby, who asked: “Why are you calling her ‘bud’? Expect better.”
The word is an informal shortening of “buddy”, meaning friend or companion. Many consider it to be traditionally masculine and used to address only men and boys.
Responding to a viral clip of the post, one social media user wrote that it was a “trigger word for me,” adding that they considered it to be “damn near a slur for trans women”.
Someone else said: “I actually felt my body shrivel up as my soul left my body out of pure cringe. Absolutely stunning woman, and he calls her ‘bud’.”
Others, however, insisted that Fallon’s use of the word was harmless and that the backlash was overblown.
“That’s just how he talks to women”
Writer Gillian Branstetter took to X/Twitter to say: “People angry at Fallon for calling her ‘bud’, but that’s just how he talks to women… and your outrage at this sort of thing makes it harder, not easier, for trans women to reach these kinds of platforms because the industry just decides it’s not worth it.”
Someone else labelled the whole argument a “non-issue”, saying Fallon had used the word when talking to Dakota Johnson and Taylor Swift.
“I’m trans and I didn’t even notice that he said ‘bud’ until people started pointing it out,” another person said. “This is such a nothing situation.”
A Reddit post in 2024 asking trans people whether they felt “bud” was gendered, mainly brought the response that while it was, it wasn’t always used in bad faith.
“Addressing someone as ‘buddy’ is absolutely male-coded and something dudes call other dudes,” one user replied. “I’ve seen plenty of transphobic guys maliciously call trans women ‘buddy’ or ‘bud’ here on Reddit in an attempt to be subtle in their misgendering.”
But someone else wrote: “Have you ever heard someone say ‘thanks buddy’ to a female stranger? I haven’t. It’s gendered [but] not necessarily maliciously so.”
