Jimmy Fallon was advised to "just stay quiet" amid his blackface controversy

Jimmy - who appeared in blackface during an episode of 'Saturday Night Live' in 2000 - revealed he was urged "to just stay quiet and to not say anything" after the controversy resurfaced last month but knew he couldn't do that.

He continued: "So I thought about it and realised that I can't not say 'I'm horrified and I'm sorry and I'm embarrassed.'"

Jimmy subsequently revealed he'd spoken to some experts about the controversy, some of whom he invited on 'The Tonight Show'.

He reflected: "The silence is the biggest crime that white guys like me and the rest of us are doing, staying silent.

"We need to say something, we need to keep saying something, and we need to say 'That's not OK' more than one day on Twitter."

Jimmy also explained he was eager to "figure out how to be a better ally".

Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was one of the experts invited on the show.

And in response to Jimmy's comments, he said: "We are all born flawed, but flawed is part of the journey we are on to get to perfection.

"If anyone can stand up and say, 'I haven't made a mistake,' run, because that person is clearly a liar."

Later in the show, CNN anchor Don Lemon praised Jimmy for his honesty, and called for a period of self-reflection.

Responding to Jimmy's opening monologue, he said: "That's exactly what we all need to do, examine ourselves.

"That was very honest and brave of you. I wish more people would do that because we can't go back to the way we were."