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Letterman's Monologue: "I Knocked Off Another Competitor"
David Letterman fired a few shots across the bow over NBC's late-night upheaval, even harkening back to when he was famously passed over as Johnny Carson's successor on The Tonight Show. "Things are getting interesting in late-night television," the host of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman said in his opening monologue. "Chaos and craziness and mayhem — a couple of minutes ago...
Watch Tuesday's edition of Hollywood 411 at 8/7c and 11/10c to see The Bachelor host Chris Harrison's inside perspective on the shocking elimination.
David Letterman fired a few shots across the bow over NBC's late-night upheaval, even harkening back to when he was famously passed over as Johnny Carson's successor on The Tonight Show.
"Things are getting interesting in late-night television," the host of CBS' Late Show with David Lettermansaid in his opening monologue. "Chaos and craziness and mayhem — a couple of minutes ago, Conan O'Brien ... announced that he would not follow Jay Leno at 12:05. Yeah, so you know what this means — that's right, I knocked off another competitor."
Conan O'Brien rejects Tonight Show move to 12:05
Letterman cracked that "al-Qaida is claiming responsibility for the wreckage at NBC."
Clearly referring to the early '90s decision by NBC to give Carson's seat to Leno rather than him, Letterman said: "I got a call just before I came out here from NBC, and they said, 'Look, look, we still don't want you back.'"
He also presented a mock promo for new 10 o'clock show on the competing network titled Law & Order: Leno Victims Unit, in which the announcer intones: "In the television industry, there are two types of talk-show hosts, Jay Leno and those who have been victimized by Jay Leno."