Longtime friends Jimmy Fallon and record executive Tommy Mottola (perhaps better known as Mariah Carey’s ex-husband) were often seen dining together at Italian restaurant Rao’s. The two were planning a pasta sauce collaboration that was tentatively planned to launch in 2027. On Thursday, an anonymous source reported that the project was “on pause” due to Mottola’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, but now it is being reported that the pasta sauce collaboration has been shelved. Both Fallon and Mottola declined to comment.
Mottola is mentioned over 600 times in the Epstein file documents that have been released to the public. The documents show that from 2010 until Epstein’s death in 2019, Mottola and Epstein were in close contact about things like travel arrangements (Mottola requested helicopter rentals in 2014), emails in 2017 (circa the huge #MeToo push) where Mottola allegedly discussed needing to “shut up and lay low,” and helping Epstein find a private detective after a Miami Herald exposé on his private island.
The files also show Mottola making dozens of calls and visits to Epstein’s properties in Manhattan and Paris, most of which occurred between 2006 and 2008 (during this time, Epstein was already serving time for soliciting minors following his first arrest). Email correspondence shows that Mottola appeared to have visited Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion several times, years after Epstein had been convicted of sex crimes in Florida. The files also show that Mottola and Epstein were close enough to exchange gifts. Mottola gave Epstein “a huge box of Bridgewater Chocolates” in December 2011 and a gift basket in September 2017.
In addition to managing Hall & Oates, running Sony Music, and working with Universal Music, Mottola also branched out into movies, music, and television. His media group produced several Broadway musicals including Jersey Boys, A Bronx Tale, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, and Groundhog Day.
