When it comes to handing out burns with a genial smile, Jimmy Fallon is clearly the king. Fallon did a killer Ryan Lochte bit at the 2016 VMAs where he claimed he taught Drake the "Hotline Bling" and gave Adele her flip phone. The bit was stellar, but what made it work more than anything else was Michael Phelps' reaction to Fallon's impression. Lochte and Phelps are teammates, but that did not stop Phelps from laughing at all of Fallon's on point jokes. And who could blame him?
Lochte's admittedly exaggerated robbery story put a damper on the Rio Olympics and tarnished Team USA's reputation. While the Olympian has apologized, it cannot undo the "exaggeration." Lochte might as well get used to being a punchline, at least for now. If you are going to be impersonated though, Fallon is a great person for the job. He came out in full Lochte garb right down to the bleached hair, and pulled no punches with his jokes.
The cameraman at the 2016 VMAs wisely kept flashing to the accomplished Phelps during the bit. It could have been awkward had Phelps remained stone faced or flashed an uncomfortable smile, but the swimmer was full on cracking up and it was beautiful. Phelps may have laughed harder than anyone else in the audience, and it was a highlight of the night. (Outside of Beyonce's unbelievable Lemonade performance, of course.)
Phelps not only laughed at all of Fallon's jokes, he stood up and took a picture of Fallon as Lochte. The perfection was almost too much to take. Was it the jokes that made Phelps laugh or is he just a major Fallon fan? Either way seeing his grinning face at the 2016 VMAs was almost as good as watching him break all the records in Rio. An excited Phelps is the best Phelps, and if the Lochte gag leads to a Fallon/Phelps bromance the whole world wins.
