NEED TO KNOW
- David Letterman was a guest on Wednesday’s, Dec. 10, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- While there, he said he is “so glad to be out from under this mess” of late-night television, when asked if he missed hosting his show
- Letterman retired from late night in 2015 after 33 years on air
David Letterman does not wish he was back on the small screen.
Letterman, 78, appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wednesday, Dec. 10. “Do you ever now when you’re at home in your palatial estate watching television think, ‘Oh man, I wish I was on tonight to talk about something that’s going on?’ ” Kimmel, 58, asked the former late night host.
“Boy, you would think, but no. I’m so glad to be out from under this mess,” Letterman began. “Because people like you and people like Stephen [Colbert] and people like Seth [Meyers] do such a masterful job of defending this democracy,” he added, inspiring applause from the audience.
Letterman continued, “About all I’m capable of is showing up every now and then and saying f— Waymo and that’s it,” he said, referring to the self-driving car company.
“Thank God for you, thank God for others, SNL and everybody else. It’s just, I think it’s the way things need to be in a democracy that’s seemingly this crippled,” Letterman said.
Kimmel joked, “Well, I would prefer you limited it to me, but I appreciate those.”
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He then added that Letterman “did forget John Stewart, The Daily Show.”
“I mean, there are many others that we can include here,” Kimmel said, paying homage to Stewart, 63.
Letterman stepped down from his job as the host of The Late Show in May 2015, wrapping up his late night hosting career after 33 years. Letterman began hosting Late Night in 1982, and his offbeat humor created an entirely new era of late night television.
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Letterman’s comments come days after Kimmel’s contract with ABC was extended, despite President Donald Trump’s continued calls for Jimmy Kimmel Live! to be taken off the air. Trump, 79, has previously said Kimmel has “no talent,” “very poor television ratings” and even called him a “bum” in a Truth Social post last month.
In response, Kimmel challenged Trump to a “talent competition.”
“Do you think he even knows I never hosted the Kennedy Center Honors? Maybe he’s confusing me with Queen Latifah. As far as this ‘who has more talent’ thing goes, it seems like he’s challenging me to a contest, which if so, I’m open to it,” Kimmel said in the Dec. 8 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
He added, “Let’s do it. Let’s have a talent competition.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.
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