Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Online presence What is Fallon's online presence? Fallon dove into the Web prior to the show premiering, creating a Twitter account and beginning a vlog on the show's official website,
Did he get a lot of followers?
Did Jimmy Fallon get a lot of followers?
The incorporation of the Internet was an innovation decided long before the show began. Highlighting interactivity, Fallon dove into the Web prior to the show premiering, creating a Twitter account and beginning a vlog on the show's official website, which ran snippets of comedy bits and background reports on how he was building the show. The show's Web site was staffed by three full-time bloggers, who compile viral videos and post photos. Questlove tweeted during tapings of the show. "I think a lot of shows don't use the Internet as well as they could," said Fallon in 2009. "The Internet has been awesome," he added. "They've got my back."  Online interaction and its presence on the show were crucial to its success. Fallon devoted considerable time and resources to incorporating digital ideas into his comedy -- "he sits at his desk behind a Mac, not a microphone" -- focusing especially on social media, which connects the younger audience.  Fallon published a welcome video for the Late Night YouTube Channel in May 2013; the channel featured segments such as "Ask Jimmy," "Night News Now," and "Web Exclusives." Many of the videos received a very high number of views, including the ""#Hashtag" with Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake" clip that had garnered over 17 million views by October 21, 2013. During the open letter controversy between musical artists Miley Cyrus and Sinead O'Connor, the channel published an a cappella version of Cyrus' song "We Can't Stop" on October 8, 2013, in which Fallon and The Roots also perform. CANNOTANSWER
Many of the videos received a very high number of views,
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. The hour-long show aired from 2009 to 2014 on week nights at 12:35 AM Eastern/11:35 pm Central, on NBC.

The third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman, the program originated from NBC Studio 6B (and Studio 6A for the final six months of its run) in the Comcast Building at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. The show typically opened with a brief monologue from Fallon, followed by a comedy "desk piece," as well as prerecorded segments and audience competitions. The next segment was devoted to a celebrity interview, with guests ranging from actors and musicians to media personalities and political figures. Hip hop/neo soul band The Roots served as the show's house band, and Steve Higgins was the show's announcer. The show then closed with either a musical or comedy performance, or a cooking segment. The show frequently employed digital media into its comedy, which became crucial to its success.

In 2013, Fallon was selected by NBC to succeed a retiring Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show. The final episode of Late Night under Fallon aired one night after Leno's final episode of The Tonight Show on February 6, 2014. Most of the cast and crew immediately began working on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which premiered on February 17, 2014.

Seth Meyers was named as Fallon's replacement, and Late Night with Seth Meyers debuted after the Sochi Olympics.

The show's ratings remained above its rival shows throughout most of the series' run. In 2011, the show garnered two Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.

Format
The show began with the opening sequence as Steve Higgins proclaiming "From Studio 6B/6A in Rockefeller Center, the National Broadcasting Company presents Late Night with Jimmy Fallon!", and announced that night's guests and "the legendary Roots crew". Just before Higgins introduced Fallon, the camera cut to a shot of The Roots, who then shouted three numbers symbolizing the episode number of Late Night (though other numbers and statements have been shouted in place based on current events, cities if that episode's number matches a particular city's area codes, and historical show moments - toward the end of the show's run, Questlove would shout how many episodes remained rather than the number of the show itself). As the camera panned over to the main stage, some members of The Roots performed actions to get the camera's attention (F. Knuckles saluted, Captain Kirk Douglas did a windmill chord, and Damon Bryson smiled while flashing a peace sign). Higgins then introduced Fallon with a drawn-out "And here he is, Jimmy Fallon!", and Fallon began his brief monologue. Fallon often gave the cue cards for a joke to audience members if the joke fell particularly flat. Jimmy would segue directly from the final punchline of his monologue into saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a great show for you tonight. Give it up for The Roots!", who would play briefly as Fallon walked to his desk.

After the monologue, Fallon typically performed a comedy "desk piece." Some were weekly: "Pros and Cons" on Tuesdays, and "Late Night Hashtags" on Thursdays. Fridays were also reserved for Fallon to write "Thank You Notes" to figures that have given him material for the past week. The popularity of these "Thank You Notes" led to the release of two books full of the favorites. He also sometimes had the entire crew of the show write letters home.

After the desk piece ended and a commercial break followed, typically there was a competition involving players selected from the studio audience. These included "Wheel of Carpet Samples," "Wax on Wax off," "Cell Phone Shootout," "Models and Buckets," "Lick it for Ten," "Let Us Play with Your Look," "Put It In Reverse," and "Hot Dog in a Hole." Occasionally the segment featured a group-performance competition, "Battle of the Instant Bands" or "Battle of the Instant Dance Crews."

In the show's third segment, the first guest arrived. That guest usually stayed after the next break, then either played a game with Jimmy and some audience members, or performed in a skit with Jimmy. Next, a second guest entered after the show's third break. Once these interviews were completed and the show had taken its final commercial break, the musical guest (or sometimes, a chef or comedian) performed. Once the musical guest finished, Fallon bid the viewers farewell. As credits rolled, Fallon ran up and down the stairs of the studio giving high fives to the audience before exiting backstage.

History

In 2004 NBC announced that in five years, Late Night host Conan O'Brien would replace Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show. Fallon, at the time, had just left Saturday Night Live, and was pursuing a movie career. SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels was the first to suggest to the comedian that he'd be perfect to fill O'Brien's empty seat. Michaels said he wanted Fallon to be the new host dating back to the day that Fallon left Saturday Night Live, which occurred only a few months before O'Brien's departure was announced. Michaels, a staunch advocate of Fallon, urged NBC to give Fallon a holding deal in February 2007 so that he couldn't be lured elsewhere.

According to Michaels:

Fallon wasn't approached by NBC until early 2008. Fallon's movie career, self-admittedly "hadn't worked out that great," and NBC contacted him to become O'Brien's replacement. The network had a couple of other candidates in mind to replace Conan, but Michaels insisted he'd only produce the show with Fallon as host. In May 2008, NBC announced that Fallon would be O'Brien's replacement, "an announcement that was met with some bewilderment, even snickers," recalled New York. At the time of the announcement, he was scheduled to debut in June 2009. Michaels soon tasked Fallon with "training" for the gig by returning to his stand-up roots; for eight months, Fallon toured college campuses and comedy clubs, where he tested out a new, 50-minute routine. In addition, Michaels and Fallon assembled a "well-pedigreed" team for Late Night, including Steve Higgins, longtime SNL producer Michael Shoemaker as showrunner, and celebrated hip-hop group The Roots as the house band. Before the show debuted, Conan O'Brien sent a large plastic pickle to Fallon's office, accompanied by a handwritten note reflecting the ritual: "The Letterman people sent this pickle to my office in 1993. Now I'm passing it on to you. Whenever you leave, which won't be for a long time, make sure you pass it on to the next sap." (Fallon, in turn, presented the pickle on-air to incoming "Late Night" host Seth Meyers on January 28, 2014.)  In an early sketch about recording promos for the show's debut, Fallon's announcer, Steve Higgins, joked: "You loved him on SNL. You hated him in the movies. Now, you're ambivalent."

The show's time slot briefly came under question during the 2010 Tonight Show conflict. Fallon announced that the show would be bumped to a 1:05 am start time, with the move of The Jay Leno Show to 11:35 pm and subsequent bump of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien to 12:05 am start. This proved to be false, as O'Brien refused the change, citing a reluctance to infringe upon Late Night, and saying it would be "unfair to Jimmy." Fallon was then next in line to succeed Leno, set to begin his stint on The Tonight Show on February 17, 2014. Saturday Night Live cast member and "Weekend Update" anchor Seth Meyers was announced as Fallon's replacement on Late Night. The final episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon aired on February 7, 2014, the day of the start of the NBC coverage of the Winter Olympics. Andy Samberg and The Muppets were Fallon's final guests.

Debut episode
The show premiered on March 2, 2009 with Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake, Nick Carter and Van Morrison appearing as Fallon's first guests.  Former Late Night host Conan O'Brien also made a cameo appearance in the beginning. The Hollywood Reporter described the episode: "Fallon opened with a fairly traditional monologue that drew few laughs, followed by a couple of prepared bits that were long on ambition but failed to connect." Bits introduced during the show's debut night were "Slow Jam the News" and "Lick it for Ten." The Los Angeles Times, in retrospect, referred to it as "an uneven beginning," recalling: "Fallon booked one of the world's worst interview subjects, Robert De Niro, as his first guest, and the acknowledged irony — De Niro was asked questions he could answer in a single word — did not make the interview any better, or funny." Timberlake was Fallon's second guest offering, "ebullient in doing dead-on impressions of John Mayer and Michael McDonald" before facing off off-camera against long-time "rival" Nick Carter in an arm-wrestling match that Carter ultimately won. Van Morrison was the show's first musical guest. Fallon acknowledged possible roughness, saying the intimacy of late-night shows demands early modulating: "We're going to find our style. I know I'm gonna get reviewed off the first show, as opposed to the first couple of months."

Final episode
Fallon hosted his final episode of Late Night on February 7, 2014, one day after Jay Leno hosted his final Tonight Show. Jimmy welcomed former SNL castmate Andy Samberg as his final guest. After a brief retrospective with Higgins about their time on Late Night, the show ended with Fallon playing drums and singing backup to "The Weight" behind an ensemble of Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem and various other Muppets. Upon the conclusion of the song, Fallon exited Studio 6A, and walked silently down the hall to Studio 6B (through a door featuring his Tonight Show logo), where his cast and crew awaited him with an ovation. The ratings for Fallon's final episode set an all-time high for his tenure as host, being seen by over 6.6 million viewers. Fallon's final Late Night broadcast aired on NBC thirty minutes earlier than normal, and followed the Opening Ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and late local news.

Sexual discrimination accusation
On July 28, 2010, former stage manager Paul Tarascio accused Jimmy Fallon and the producers of Late Night of sexually discriminating against him. Tarascio alleged he was demoted and then lost his job to what he describes as a "less qualified" woman because, "Jimmy just prefers to take direction from a woman." Following the demotion, Tarascio continued to protest the change, including complaints directed to his union representative, and was subsequently fired based on a list of job failures provided by NBC. An NBC spokeswoman said that claims of sexual discrimination were "without merit".

Production

The program was taped at NBC Studio 6B in the GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City, the original home of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, until August 2013.  In September 2013, the show moved to an identically-recreated set across the hall in Studio 6A, so that 6B could be remodeled for the return of The Tonight Show to New York in 2014.  Studio 6A is the studio from which Late Night had been broadcast during the Letterman and O'Brien eras, while 6B had housed the WNBC News 4 New York studios since Carson moved his show to Burbank, California, in 1972.

The show's house band was hip hop/neo soul band The Roots, and its announcer was Steve Higgins, a producer for Saturday Night Live. It was produced by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video in association with NBC's television arm Universal Television (although copyright notices for Late Night, like select NBC Programming, read "© (year) NBC Studios, Inc".).

Tapings began at 5:30pm for same-day broadcast; audiences arrived as much as 90 minutes in advance, which allowed for warm-up by a staff member ("try to find everything funnier than normal"); in between guests, Fallon recorded custom promotional clips for the NBC affiliates.

Online presence

The incorporation of the Internet was an innovation decided long before the show began. Highlighting interactivity, Fallon dove into the Web prior to the show premiering, creating a Twitter account and beginning a vlog on the show's official website, which ran snippets of comedy bits and background reports on how he was building the show. The show's Web site was staffed by three full-time bloggers, who compile viral videos and post photos. Questlove tweeted during tapings of the show. "I think a lot of shows don't use the Internet as well as they could," said Fallon in 2009. "The Internet has been awesome," he added. "They've got my back."

Online interaction and its presence on the show were crucial to its success. Fallon devoted considerable time and resources to incorporating digital ideas into his comedy — "he sits at his desk behind a Mac, not a microphone" — focusing especially on social media, which connects the younger audience.

Fallon published a welcome video for the Late Night YouTube Channel in May 2013; the channel featured segments such as "Ask Jimmy," "Night News Now," and "Web Exclusives." Many of the videos received a very high number of views, including the ""#Hashtag" with Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake" clip that had garnered over 17 million views by October 21, 2013. During the open letter controversy between musical artists Miley Cyrus and Sinead O'Connor, the channel published an a cappella version of Cyrus' song "We Can't Stop" on October 8, 2013, in which Fallon and The Roots also perform.

Music
Music was a signature part of the humor of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Fallon employed impressions of celebrities and used song parodies that rest in "borderline-surreal pop cultural juxtapositions," such as Fallon impersonating Neil Young singing the theme to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Many of the sketches went viral; the first among these was Brian Williams' appearance for "Slow Jam the News," a bit where Fallon and The Roots turned news stories into a "sexy R&B song." Some of Late Night most famous musical moments included Paul McCartney joining Fallon to sing "Scrambled Eggs" – the working title of "Yesterday" – using the original whimsical filler lyrics, as well as President Barack Obama's appearance to "Slow Jam the News." An article in The Huffington Post credited music as crucial to the show's success: "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon almost instantly became a fun, must-watch talk show largely because Jimmy fully embraced the musical opportunities afforded to him." In 2012, the musical pieces were compiled together as a primetime NBC special, aptly titled Jimmy Fallon's Primetime Music Special, and remastered for the album Blow Your Pants Off.

The show received widespread acclaim for its musical performances, which ranged from superstars such as Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé and Kanye West to up-and-comers such as Lorde, Kendrick Lamar and Ed Sheeran, all of whom made their network TV debuts on Late Night. Fallon was heavily involved in choosing the musical guests, in tandem with music booker Jonathan Cohen and Roots bandleader Questlove.

Other artists who made their network TV debuts on Late Night include: Frank Ocean, Kacey Musgraves, Florida Georgia Line, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Carly Rae Jepsen, Odd Future, Eric Church, Panda Bear, Gary Clark Jr., Chvrches, Grimes, Sun Kil Moon, Sky Ferreira, Disclosure and Sam Smith, Jake Owen, Of Monsters and Men, The Dismemberment Plan, M83, Ellie Goulding, 2 Chainz, A$AP Rocky, Tame Impala, Beach House, Walk the Moon, The War on Drugs, Phantogram, Savages, Joey Badass, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Parquet Courts, Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, Pinback, Frightened Rabbit and Passion Pit.

Late Night featured a number of legendary and cult-classic acts who had not performed on American television in many years. In 2009, the show reunited influential Washington, D.C.-based post-punk group Jawbox for its first performance in 12 years. Other artists of this type who broke long hiatuses from American TV performances on Late Night included The Specials (30 years), The Cars (24 years), Big Audio Dynamite (21 years), Mazzy Star (19 years), Superchunk (16 years), Sunny Day Real Estate (15 years), Pulp (14 years), Portishead (13 years) and the Afghan Whigs (13 years). Swedish rock band Refused also made its American TV debut 13 years after its original breakup when it performed in July 2012 on the show.

The show broke ground with thematic music-centric weeks, including tributes to The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam, during which high-profile contemporary artists covered those bands' songs. In March 2013, Late Night devoted a full week to Justin Timberlake, during which Timberlake performed music from his then-new album The 20/20 Experience on five consecutive shows and appeared in a different comedy sketch during each show.

Reception

Critical response
Although the show received much acclaim, the debut episode received mixed to negative reviews across the board and was considered to have "arrived needing plenty of work." In particular, critics noted Fallon's nervousness and profuse sweating as well as awkward comedy pieces like "Lick It for 10." However, interaction with the show's house band, The Roots, was applauded and it was noted that "a bit in which Fallon sang a "slow jam" version of the news succeeded, in large part, thanks to The Roots' typically taut playing and singer Tariq 'Black Thought' Trotter's impeccable voice and surprisingly good comic timing." The LA Times commented that "the late-night role seems on the face of it a good fit" for Jimmy Fallon and that "this is a form that develops in the fullness of time, as chances are taken and limits tested and you learn the things you can learn only in the doing, night after night." The show's first season scored a 48/100 on Metacritic, and viewers rated it at a 5/10.

Reviews grew much more positive over time, and the show received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series each year beginning in 2011 and continuing through the end of the show. In 2010, New York complimented Fallon's "good humor" and noted his improvement: "In the relative safety of his 12:35 a.m. time slot, Fallon has been cultivating a distinct, and refreshing, strain of humor: the comedy of unabashed celebration." The same year, a Los Angeles Times piece titled "Jimmy Fallon, you're growing on us" complimented his excitement and charm: "Whatever tentativeness Fallon showed has long dissipated, and what he lacks in penetrating insight, ... he makes up in enthusiasm." In 2012, the New York Times called Fallon "one of the hot acts in late night with younger viewers," attributing the show's success to the show's "original comedy ideas" and Fallon's own performance.

Ratings

US television ratings (Late Night Talk Shows)

Despite cautious reviews, the show was a ratings favorite during its premiere week. The show outperformed its main competitor, CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,  by half a million viewers. Fallon also managed a higher viewer total than his predecessor, Conan O'Brien. Fallon's total viewer count was 21% higher than Conan O'Brien's 1,991,000 Late Night average that season. Fallon maintained his lead over Ferguson until the night of March 16 when The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson attracted a larger audience (1.47 vs. 1.27 million viewers).

For the week July 27–July 31, 2009, Late Night was the ratings leader with a 17 percent lead in adults 18-49 and a 42 percent lead with adults 18-34.  Since the show aired on March 2, Fallon has ranked number one or tied Ferguson in these demographics on 97/100 nights.

After Jay Leno returned to The Tonight Show, in total viewers Late Night (2.0 million viewers overall) out-delivered The Late Late Show (1.7 million) by a margin of 17 percent the entire first week.

In the May 2010 sweeps, Late Night had a higher rating, a roughly equal share, but fewer average viewers, than The Late Late Show. The two were tied in the demographic of adults age 18 to 49, with Late Night having a slightly higher share.

In the May 2011 sweeps, all of NBC's late night programming reported increased viewership. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon reported a 13% increase in viewership compared to the previous year. Late Night, though, managed to beat The Late Late Show by a very small margin.

On February 6, 2014, Jay Leno hosted his last episode of his second tenure as host of The Tonight Show, and brought in Leno's biggest overall audience since the night of the Seinfeld finale in 1998. Boosted by the big lead-in, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon had its largest viewership ever with 6 million viewers. This was the highest number for the Late Night franchise since David Letterman's Late Night finale in 1993. The ratings were bested the next day by Fallon's last show, when over 6.6 million viewers watched. On that occasion, no Tonight Show was produced, and Late Night aired thirty minutes earlier than normal, at 12:05 AM ET on NBC, following the 2014 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies and late local news.

International
Late Night originally aired in Australia on The Comedy Channel along with The Tonight Show, however both were dropped following Leno's reinstatement citing a decline in viewership. In November 2010 after a few months of being off the air, The Comedy Channel'''s Group Programming Director Darren Chau announced that Late Night would resume airing from December 7, this time without accompanying The Tonight Show. For the relaunch, the Comedy Channel was re-branded as the Jimmy Channel for one day with Jimmy Fallon hosting the entire evening line-up counting down to the return of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The Comedy Channel's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon promotional campaign won Gold at the 2011 world Promax Awards in New York, and Silver at the 2011 Australian Promax Awards. It now airs on ABC2.
In the Middle East, Late Night aired on OSN Comedy Channel, part of the Orbit Showtime Network.
In Finland, the show was aired on a channel called TV Viisi (TV Five).
In France, the show aired with new episodes a day after their initial airing in the US on MCM and Canal + with French subtitles.
In Portugal, the show was aired on SIC Radical, but was dropped when rights to broadcast Conan were secured.
In Canada, the show aired on CTV at the same time as the U.S. NBC. The show was also rerun the next day at 3:00pm on MuchMusic.
In Turkey, the show aired on Bloomberg HT every night.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the show aired with new episodes a day after their initial airing in the US on CNBC.
Beginning in late February 2012, Late Night aired across Europe on CNBC Europe, replacing The Tonight Show with Jay Leno which occupied the slot for many years.  The show aired in a 30-minute condensed version Mondays-Fridays at 00.00 CET.  On Saturdays and Sundays two episodes aired per night from 21.00 CET in the full 45-minute version.  The episodes aired on a one-day delay from transmission in the USA.
In Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, the show airs at variable times between 23:00 and midnight Monday to Friday on One (still called einsFestival on the EPG). An omnibus of all the episodes from the week are shown on Saturdays in between midnight and 04:00
In Asia, Late Night'' aired back-to-back each Saturday/Sunday (8 p.m. to 1 a.m.) and Sunday/Monday (11 p.m. to 4 a.m.) on CNBC Asia. The schedule applied to Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Awards and nominations

Notes

See also

 List of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon episodes
 List of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon sketches
 List of late-night American network TV programs

References

External links

 
Fallon, Jimmy
2009 American television series debuts
2014 American television series endings
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2000s American television talk shows
2010s American television talk shows
English-language television shows
NBC original programming
Television series by Broadway Video
Television series by Universal Television
Television shows filmed in New York City
The Roots
Super Bowl lead-out shows
Buddhafield is a cult mainly known from its coverage in the documentary film Holy Hell directed by Will Allen. It began in the 1980s in Hollywood, and continues in Hawaii today, often recruiting through yoga studios. The group has been described by some former members as being a cult.

Overview

Leader 
The leader of Buddhafield is a man previously known as Michel, Andreas, The Teacher, or Reyji, born Jaime Gomez. He was once known to wear nothing but swim briefs and eyeliner.

History

Post-Waco changes 
Gomez voiced his anxieties to his then-follower Will Allen after the Waco siege. Allen pinpoints this as the moment when Gomez's paranoia began. Gomez left his followers for six months to find a new location for the group. Gomez also began to undergo increasing amounts of plastic surgery around this time, as well as recommending his female followers undergo similar procedures. Gomez also attempted to get followers to report on each others' perceived digressions. He kept one follower from seeing her father before he died, and encouraged another to get an abortion, claiming religious reasons.

Beliefs 
Buddhafield largely uses New Age ideas. Jaime Gomez thinks of himself as God, and encourages his followers to think of themselves as God as well.

Buddhafield uses the Sanskrit word shakti (meaning "power") for Jaime Gomez' alleged power transference to his followers using his finger. Gomez also cites the Bhagavad Gita as a source. Gomez demanded his followers remain celibate despite himself allegedly having sexual intercourse with various followers. Drugs and alcohol were also banned from use while in the group.

Buddhafield followers change names while in the group. Holy Hell director Will Allen explained that "A lot of the principles of the East vs. West that we were doing—surrendering to the guru, dropping your ego, taking your shoes off before you walk into a room and leave the world behind—we didn't think of it as giving our power, we thought of it as empowering." Three to five hour ballet practices two to three days each week were often a part of the group's activities, with members even missing their jobs for practice. The resulting performance was never shown to anyone outside of Buddhafield.

Allegations 
Many allegations have been made against Jaime Gomez, most notably sexual abuse of his male followers. His victims have said that they had their confessions in their weekly hypnotherapy sessions used against them. Gomez also used the AIDS crisis to instill fear in his gay male followers to frighten them into staying.

Former members such as Chris Johnston, Julian Goldstein, Radhia Gleis and Alessandra Burenin claim they were brainwashed by Jaime Gomez. Allen and other former Buddhafield members claim that they were not allowed to obtain information from outside sources, with Gomez bristling at one member purchasing a television.

Gomez shunned such ex-followers and denied the allegations.

Reaction to film 
Jaime Gomez has allegedly sent followers to Holy Hell's Sundance Film Festival debut screenings to "physically threaten" ex-followers featured in the film. One of Gomez's bodyguards allegedly threatened a cast member after Sundance.

Gomez's official statement is as follows:The Teacher’s formal statement on the film: “It is heartbreaking to see how history has been rewritten. Holy Hell is not a documentary, rather, it is a work of fiction designed to create drama, fear and persecution; that is what sells. I am saddened by this attempt to obscure the message of universal love and spiritual awakening. It is devastating to see these friends, who were once so filled with love for the world, become so angry. I wish them only the best, and hold each one close to my heart. If any of my actions were a catalyst for their disharmony, I am truly sorry.  May all beings find peace, Michel.

References 

New religious movements
New religious movements in popular culture
Cults Hud (, ), is the 11th chapter (Surah) of the Quran and has 123 verses (ayat). It relates in part to the prophet Hud. Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), it is an earlier "Meccan surah", which means it is believed to have been revealed in Mecca, instead of later in Medina.

Verses 105-112 are preserved in the Ṣan‘ā’1 lower text.

Summary

1-2 The Quran a revelation from God
3-5 Muhammad a warner and a preacher of goodness
6  Infidels cannot hide their sin from God
7-8  God the Creator and Preserver of all creatures
8  The resurrection rejected by the infidels as sorcery
9  They scoff at threatened punishment
10-11  Mercy and judgment alike disregarded by infidels
12  Those who persevere in good works shall be rewarded
13  The unbelievers demand a sign from heaven
14  Muhammad charged with forging the Qurán
14-15  He challenges the infidels to produce ten chapters like it, or to become Muslims
16-17  The miserable fate of those who live for this present world
18  Moses and the Jews attest the truth of the Qurán
19-23  The maligners of prophets shall be cursed
24  The blessed portion of believers
25  Similitudes of believers and unbelievers

The History of Noah 26-27 He is sent as a public preacher 28 The chiefs of his people reject him as a liar 29-32 Noah protests his integrity - Refuses to drive away his poor followers - Deprecates being thought a seer or an angel 33 His people challenge him to bring on the threatened judgment 34-35 Noah declares that God destroys and saves whom he pleaseth 36 Noah’s people declare his message a forgery 37 God tells Noah that no more of his people will believe on him 38 He is commanded to make an ark 39 Noah builds the ark and is derided by the people 40-41 Embarks with his followers and one pair each of the animals 42-43 Noah in vain entreats his unbelieving son to embark 44 The waters abate and the ark rests on Al Júdi 45 Noah pleads with God for his son 46 God reproves him for his intercession for his son 47 Noah repents and asks pardon for his fault 48 He descends from the ark 49 This history a secret revealed to Muhammad

The History of Hūd 50-52 He is sent to call Ád from idolatry 53 The Ádites reject him as a liar  54-57 Hūd protests his integrity, and declares his trust in God to save him from their plots 58 God delivers Hūd and his followers 59-60 The Ádites reject their messenger and are destroyed

The History of Sálih 61 He is sent to call the Thamúdites from idolatry 62 They reject his message 63-64 Sálih protests his integrity, and gives them a she-camel as a sign from God 65 They kill the camel, and are threatened with destruction 66 Sálih and his followers are saved from destruction 67-68 The Thamúdites are miserably destroyed

The History of Abraham and Lot 69 God’s messengers sent to Abraham—He entertains them 70  He is filled with fear because they refuse to eat his meat 70-71  The angels quiet his fears and tell him they are sent to the people of Lot 71-73 Sarah receives the promise of Isaac and Jacob 74  Abraham intercedes for the people of Lot 75  The angels refuse his request 76  Lot is anxious for the safety of his angel visitors 77-79  The Sodomites attack his house 80  The angels warn Lot to leave the city and inform him of the destruction impending over his people and his wife 81-82 The cities are overthrown and the people killed by a shower of bricks

The History of Shuaib 83 He is sent to call the Midianites from idolatry 84-86 He reproaches them for dishonest weights and measures 87 The people reject him, refusing to leave their idols 88-90 Shuaib protests his integrity, and exhorts them to flee the fate of the people of Noah, Hūd, Sálih, and Lot 91 The people threaten to stone him 92-94 Shuaib threatens them with Divine judgment 95-96 God destroys the infidels, but saves Shuaib and his followers

The History of Moses 97 He is sent with signs to Pharaoh and his princes 98-100 They reject him, and are consigned to hell-fire 101-105 Exhortation and warning drawn from the fate of these cities 106-109 The condition of the righteous and wicked in judgment 110 Muhammad not to doubt about the religion of the Quarish

111 The Quraish doubt the Quran as the Jews did the Pentateuch 112 God will punish their evil deeds 
113-114 Muhammad exhorted to be steadfast 
115 An exhortation to prayer
116-118 God just in destroying the unbelieving cities 
119 The unbelievers predestinated to damnation 
120 The whole history of the prophets related to Muhammad 
121-122 Unbelievers threatened 
123 Muhammad exhorted to put his trust in God

Exegesis

Quran 11 opens with a discussion on the nature of man and the punishment that awaits those who defy God. Thereafter, the main content of the surah is a series of stories of prophets who warned their people to follow God, the people persisting in defying God, and God punishing and killing them.

25-49 The story of Noah
Verses 11:25-49 tell the story of Noah and how his people did not believe his commands to follow God. The unbelievers are drowned in a flood, which includes Noah's son; Noah asks God about this act, but God rebukes Noah as being ignorant and says that Noah's son is "not a member of his family." Surah 66, At-Tahrim, elaborates on this and says that Noah's wife is an unbeliever in hell who was unfaithful to her husband.

50-60 The prophet Hud is sent to the ʿĀd
Verses 11:50-60 deal with the prophet Hud, the namesake of the Surah. He was sent to the ʿĀd, an Omani tribe which according to history crumbled sometime between the 3rd and 6th century AD. The ʿĀd do not believe Hud, and Hud and those who do believe are rescued by God, followed by God inflicting a "dreadful doom" on them so that they were "accursed in the world."

61-68 The people of Thamud and the prophet Saleh
Verses 11:61-68 concern the people of Thamud and the prophet Saleh. Saleh tries to convince Thamud to repent, but once more the unbelievers ignore the prophet. Saleh offers a she-camel as an offering of peace, but says that it should be left alone. If anything befalls it, the people will be punished. The camel is hamstrung, Saleh and those who believe are rescued, and the unbelievers are smitten by a "blast from heaven."

69-84 Sodom and Gomorrah 
The Quranic version of the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah is in Verses 11:69-84. Abraham and Sarah are given the news of their son and grandson's forthcoming birth (Isaac and Jacob), after which they plead for mercy for Lot's people. God refuses the request, saying that the punishment cannot be averted. Lot offers his daughters to the men of Sodom, but they respond with disinterest and say "you know what we want."

80-84 Homosexuality
Verses 11:80-84 confirms the Biblical account of homosexuality as being the crime of Lot's people. Angels descend to protect Lot and his daughters, and the city is destroyed by a stone rain. Lot's wife perishes as well.

85-95 The prophet Shu'aib sent to Midian
Verse 11:85-95 deal with the prophet Shu'aib sent to Midian. Once more, the people ignore the prophet's warnings; this time, Shu'aib reminds the people of the fate of the people of Noah, Hud, Saleh, and Lot. It doesn't work, and the people spare Shu'aib from death by stoning only because he comes from a powerful clan. Shu'aib and those who believe are rescued by God. Afterward, the unbelievers "[were] seized by a punishment from heaven, and lay overturned in their homes in the morning as though they had not dwelt there at all."

The remaining verses discuss the general theme once more, with occasional references to Moses. The harsh punishment is explained as "We did not wrong them; they wronged themselves." Other gods are decried as false, powerless, and useless. Believers are commanded to walk the straight path and follow God, and those who disbelieve will suffer in Hell.

References

External links 
Q11:1, 50+ translations, islamawakened.com
Quran 11 Clear Quran translation 
Surah Hud Mp4

Hud