Questlove is back to his day job.
The bandleader for the “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” returned to the late-night program Monday, fresh off winning the Academy Award for best documentary for “Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” which he produced and directed.
The Roots drummer posted a series of videos on his Instagram stories capturing his “Tonight Show” family applauding and cheering backstage.
“Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it,” he said.
You can see the Oscar statuette in his hand at various points as he walks onto the set while Jimmy Fallon serenades him with “He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” with people in the audience singing along.
“We love you! We’re so proud of you!” Fallon said as he wrapped up the song. “Oh my gosh! You did it!”
The crowd continued to cheer as Fallon once again announced that he had won an Academy Award.
Questlove’s win came immediately after Will Smith smacked Chris Rock in a moment that shocked viewers and those in attendance. Rock was presenting the award for best documentary when he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, prompting Smith to get out of his seat and strike Rock, an action that the actor apologized for on Monday.
Questlove, whose birth name is Ahmir Thompson, said he was so busy meditating that he didn’t realize what had happened.
“When I opened my eyes, I didn’t realize, like, ‘Why is everyone so quiet?’ I literally was not present for that whole, entire moment,” he told Fallon Monday on “The Tonight Show.”
“And as I’m walking to the stage, I’m kind of putting two and two together and I realize that that was a real moment, like, maybe three seconds before I spoke words. In my mind, they’re just doing a sketch or whatever and I’m just like, ‘OK, Ahmir, remember to thank your mom, your dad.’ So I was not present at all. I was just in a blank space.”
Controversy aside, Questlove is thrilled to have won an Oscar and has received some important advice.
“They told me to never put it down because people have been known to steal it,” he said.
“So, no matter what you do, keep it on your person. So, literally, (I was) on the plane the whole time, I’m spooning (with it),” he joked.