The first chunk of 2025 amounted to a pretty good half-year for Lonely Island co-founder Jorma Taccone. He popped up for the SNL50 concert special and the star-studded (and sorta stressful) anniversary special, is helming the new movie Over Your Dead Body, and released his Liam Neeson-starring Naked Gun re-quel to critical applause and box office success. And then he went and broke his pelvis after falling off of a ladder. Yikes.
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My pelvic condolences go out to Taccone, who shared his scary and painful story during the latest episode of The Lonely Island & Seth Meyers Podcast, which focuses on the Twilight-inspired short “Firelight” featuring pop superstar Taylor Swift. It turns out the near-disastrous incident started off from an innocent place, as he was in the midst of decorating his barn ahead of celebrating his daughter’s birthday. He discussed getting a big mural painted on the back wall, with a final task of hanging lights across the top.
That’s when things went a bit topsy-turvy for the multi-hyphenate comedian, thanks in part to faulty equipment. Taccone explained:
I’m using this ladder that my neighbor let me borrow, and he was like, ‘Hey, this ladder is bad. Like, you shouldn’t use this ladder. It doesn’t have a footing thing.’ And I was like, ‘Nah, it’ll be good.’ So then I lean it up against the thing. I’m almost done with, like, I’ve done most of the house. When this happens, I’m probably 20 feet off of the ground on this very rickety ladder, and I have it diagonal. So if you can picture it, the legs are not good, the base of the ladder is not good.
You know how no Disney movies or timeless fairy tales start off like this? That’s because this is a nightmare scenario that no one wants to experience. Zero fun stories start off by addressing how poor a ladder’s condition is.
Case in point: Jorma Taccone described the point of no return when he realized he was going down, saying:
My friend Morgan was offering to help me, but I was like, ‘Ah, he went inside to get some water, so I’ll just do this myself.’ So I felt it give way, like it’s starting to go. In that moment, my life flashes before my eyes, and I’m like, ‘Oh no, I gotta get off this ladder.’ I literally have enough time as I’m falling to be like, ‘I’m gonna die.’ And so I drop. . . . And I fall straight on my butt, taking all of the impact on my butt. Then I do a lot of screaming and cursing. Keep in mind it’s my daughter’s fifth birthday party.
That's a fifth birthday party that no child would readily be able to forget. "You know, the one where your dad got you those cool X-rays of his pelvis as a present." I can only hope that she still had a great day outside of possibly worrying about her pops.
Taccone continued, detailing some of the injuries he suffered, and then pointed out that he was actually recording the podcast while still in recovery.
I go to the hospital. It turns out that I have shattered my pelvis on my left side, like pretty badly. My sacrum has detached from my spine. . . . Yeah, I’m in a hospital bed right now. This is two days post-surgery.
For all that he was able to keep a good attitude going while talking about his injuries, Taconne is indeed suffering, and will likely have to rearrange a few things about his personal and professional life going forward, since it'll be more of a challenge for him to get from one place to the next. As he put it:
I do get a lot of credit here, which is nice. Everybody who talks to me is like, ‘Oh wow. Oh wow. That’s real painful.’ I know I’m laughing about it right now, but it is probably the most rugged thing I will ever experience, and honestly, it’s been described as ‘lifechanging.’ But on the plus side, all the doctors have been like, ‘Yeah, but you’ll be walking within like 3 to 6 months, and you’ll be back to all of the stuff that you normally do.’ So we shall see.
Hopefully this can be a cautionary tale to everyone out there who is weighing whether or not to use a questionable ladder when decorating. Just don't do it. Your pelvis and sacrum will likely thank you.
The Naked Gun, which Taccone's Lonely Island mate Andy Samberg gave high praise to, is still currently in theaters, and became available for digital renting and purchasing on September 2, so hopefully it'll be landing on a streaming service in the near future. Stay tuned for more info on Over Your Dead Body, co-starring Samara Weaving and Jason Segel, to see whether it will be finished in time to join the 2026 movie release schedule.
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