- David Letterman returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
- He walked onto the stage to a loud standing ovation.
- Colbert’s 11-year run as host will officially end on May 21
David Letterman returned to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Thursday night. And, he did not hold back, talking about Stephen Colbert's exit from the show.
Letterman, who hosted The Late Show before Colbert, walked onto the stage to a loud standing ovation from studio audience. Seemingly excited, he joked about the situation and quipped, “Well, you know what happened backstage? I'm standing backstage, a guy comes over, he says he's from CBS and he fires me. What is going on over there?!”
The veteran host kept the humour alive as he continued, “This theatre, you folks wouldn't be in this theatre if it weren't for me, and Stephen wouldn't be here if it weren't for me. But, listen… as we all understand, you can take a man's show, you can't take a man's voice.”
Letterman also joked about the future of late-night TV, asking, “What I'm really worried about is: What will become of the Jimmys?” — referring to fellow hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon.
“We've got a plan to put them in a captive breeding programme,” Colbert fired back.
The episode then turned chaotic in classic late-night fashion. Letterman and Colbert joked about CBS owning the stage furniture before stagehands removed couches from the set.
The pair later headed to the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater and tossed couches, watermelons and even a wedding cake onto a giant CBS logo below in what Colbert called “wanton destruction of CBS property”.
For those unaware, Colbert's 11-year run as host will officially end on May 21. The timing of the announcement, which came just weeks before the Ellison family's takeover of CBS-Paramount, sparked speculation online. Further, the network claimed the late-night show had reportedly been losing around $40 million a year.
US President Donald Trump also stepped in and celebrated the news on Truth Social. He wrote, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.” His stance only added to the growing speculations around Colbert's exit from the show.