Jorma Taccone of Lonely Island Injured in Ladder Accident, Will Be Unable to Walk for '3 to 6 Months'

      The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast is typically among the funniest podcasts available, but this week was different: The latest episode opened with The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone revealing that he broke his pelvis and suffered a detached sacrum due to a ladder accident at his farmhouse in Connecticut. He mentioned that doctors have informed him he should be able to walk again in “three to six months.”

      Taccone, who directed MacGruber and co-directed PopStar: Never Stop Never Stopping alongside Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer, described how he was stringing borrowed lights while on an unstable ladder that he had borrowed from a neighbor—who had warned him, “hey, this ladder is bad—you really shouldn’t use this ladder.”

      Taccone recounted feeling the ladder give way and had the time to fear for his life, stating he fell roughly 20 feet.

      “I literally had enough time while falling to think, ‘I’m going to die,’” Taccone shared. “So I dropped, looked over, saw the yard, and thought, ‘This is going to hurt a lot,’ then I landed directly on my butt, taking all the impact there.”

      The fall occurred at an especially unfortunate time, as it was his daughter’s birthday. He called for his wife, fellow director Marielle Heller, to call an ambulance, and he was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery.

      “It turns out I have shattered my pelvis on my left side. Quite severely. My sacrum has detached from my spine,” he explained.

      Taccone also mentioned that his doctor told him his injuries could have been even worse.

      “My doctor came in this morning and said, ‘Oh yeah. If you had landed on both your heels, that would have been 10 times worse.’ I’m like, ‘10 times worse? I didn’t know pain could reach that level,’” he said.

      Meyers and his Lonely Island partners Schaffer and Andy Samberg expressed their sympathy and relief that the situation wasn’t more dire. You can listen to the full episode here.

      Jorma Taccone on His Recovery Plan

      Taccone stated that he anticipates undergoing “acute rehab” but that doctors informed him he would be able to walk again in “three to six months.”

      “I’m just going to have to push through the pain,” he remarked.

      “And, no, this is definitely serious,” he added, before dryly noting, “I know this is not the funniest way to begin a podcast.”

      Taccone, who also appeared in PopStar as well as in the films Hot Rod and Land of the Lost, gained fame with his Lonely Island friends for Digital Shorts like “J— in My Pants” and “Jack Sparrow” during their time at Saturday Night Live.

      He recently directed Over Your Dead Body, a thriller featuring Jason Segel and Samara Weaving, which IFC Films has acquired.

      The summer has been busy for the Lonely Island crew: Taccone had just completed a commercial with Stephanie Beatriz, Samberg’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-star, before his ladder accident, while Schaffer enjoyed success with the Naked Gun reboot released last month, starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson. Samberg can be seen in the new season of the animated series Digman and co-stars in the upcoming film The Roses.

      Additionally, the podcast gained significant media attention last month after the passing of Meyers’ beloved family dog, Frisbee, due to an ongoing joke about Samberg’s dislike for the dog.

      We wish Taccone a swift and complete recovery and thank him and the entire Lonely Island team for all the laughter they’ve brought during these challenging times.

      Main image: Jorma Taccone at the 2022 premiere for The People We Hate at the Wedding at the Regency Village Theatre. Photo by Paul Smith, courtesy of Shutterstock.