Late-night TV can usually be counted on for a steady diet of jokes. Now it is the joke.
David Letterman joined in the skirmish Tuesday by making jokes about NBC’s late-night host shuffle on the “Late Show,” according to a transcript of his opening monologue.
NBC vowed Sunday to push Conan O’Brien and the “Tonight Show” back to 12:05 a.m. to make room for “The Jay Leno Show” at 11:35 p.m.
O’Brien balked at the idea, saying he refused to take part in the “destruction” of the “Tonight Show” brand and blasted the network for trying to patch up its ratings problems in prime-time by toying with its late-night lineup.
Letterman gleefully called the back-and-forth “chaos and craziness and mayhem” and quipped that an O’Brien departure would be good for his show on CBS. “You know what this means — that’s right, I knocked off another competitor,” Letterman said.
He also joked that President Barack Obama will have to name O’Brien’s replacement if he leaves and suggested that the shakeup could be an act of terrorism.
“And now, according to The New York Times, Al Qaeda is claiming responsibility for the wreckage at NBC,” Letterman said.
As for his experience with the situation, Letterman cracked that it’s been “tough on my mom because for the last six months she’s been forced to watch me.”
according to cnn.com
