Top Ten Embarrassing Moments for "Comedian" David Letterman

"The Late Show" Host David Letterman has waded then drowned in political waters, attacking conservatives in many cases, and rarely rescinding vile comments volleyed against others. Letterman has lost his cool at times on the air, demonstrating an incapacity to take a joke. He also set himself or his guests for embarrassing or disconcerting moments, often at his own peril.

Here is a list of David Letterman's Top Ten Humiliating Moments/Comments, from the insensitive and incendiary and invidious.

10. Letterman mocked US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas: "Senator Cruz voted 'No!' on gun control reform. He recently received $14,000 in contributions from the Gun Owners of America and the National Association for Gun Rights. [Silence] Senator Ted Cruz. There he is."

There is little respect for a media personality who brazenly mocks a Hispanic-American, one who rose from poverty to honors at Princeton, then Harvard Law School, then solicitor general of Texas, to the US Senate seat.

David Letterman

 

9. "Aren't you supposed to be in rehab?" Letterman insisted on hosting troubled actress Lindsay Lohan, and asked her about her drug issues. She referred to their pre-interview: "We talked about this. . ." yet Letterman insisted on skewering her live. Honestly, the fact that he had to bring Lohan on the show, and then try to embarrass her, shows neither class nor originality on Letterman's part.

8. Bill O'Reilly said: "Saddam Hussein slaughtered three hundred, four hundred thousand people, so knock it off!" In 2006, David Letterman lost his cool with Conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly when they were discussing the legacy of the Iraq War. For the first time in a long time, the guest pushed Letterman to the wall. While the host wanted to condemn President Bush, O'Reilly cut through the noise. The audience cheered for O'Reilly. Letterman didn't like getting owned, and he got loud, louder, then "loud-mouth".

7. O'Reilly again: "You wanna bet on it?" O'Reilly did another dance on Letterman in a later episode. Their discussion about welfare, the welfare state, and the proper role of government in the life of the citizen led to O'Reilly schooling Letterman on the generosity of the American People. When the "No Spin Zone" Host willingly offered to bet Letterman on the stats for addicted dependents, he pushed Letterman to donate his salary to charity.

More inflammatory comments on Letterman's show have set him up for humiliation:

6. Cher was a guest alone one time. She admitted her reservations about coming on the show. "I thought I would never want to do this show with you." Letterman set himself up when he asked "Why? Because you thought I was. . ." Cher pounced: "an a--hole!" Loud laughter and shock followed.

5. Heavy metal rocker Marilyn Manson refused to play along with David Letterman. In one of his worst interviews, Letterman was pushed from one side to the other, and could do very little to rile his guest. "My mom's name is Barbara, Barbara Wire." Letterman laughed through half the interview.

4. "I have a very low threshold for embarrassment." Letterman candidly admitted this to Oprah in an exclusive interview: Of course, how can anyone forget his gaffe-prone, laugh-lone Oscar hosting gig in 1995 -- "Uma! Oprah!" -- OMG! Yet he then shared: "For a long time, I thought I was a decent guy." His frank confession then becomes frankly unconvincing, especially in light of these last three "humiliating moments."

For all of David Letterman's incriminating and reproachful comments, nothing can beat the times when he had to face or come clean about his own perverse past:

3. Kirstie Allie read some of Letterman's jokes about her weight. Letterman's most awkward moments include guests reading him his own jokes, and making him squirm in his seat. Allie had the last laugh, tricking out all the insensitive jokes that he had laid on Allie. The guest got the best of Letterman that evening.

His outrageous joke about former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's daughter received a firestorm of protest:

2. "One awkward moment during the game, maybe you heard about it. One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game. During the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez. You can see how that would be awkward."

Shameful. Letterman's crude remark about Palin's daughter Bristol, at the time fourteen years old, was just plain bad. Of course, Letterman has very little respect for woman in general, apparently.

And the Number One humiliating moment from "The Late Show with David Letterman" -- incendiary, insensitive, and invidious -- is. . .

1. "I have had sex with women who work for me on this show. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would, especially for the women."

Following an extortion attempt from a CBS news executive, Letterman came clean about affairs on the workplace. Yet he was not embarrassed, and his lack of embarrassment in itself is quite embarrassing, yet not surprising. Letterman's shamelessness makes his work ultimately worthless, and network viewers share the sentiment. Perhaps it's time for Letterman to give up the comedy routine. He's just embarrassing!

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