David Letterman crashes Jimmy Fallon's 'Tonight Show' monologue in post-retirement suprise for fans

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Legendary late-night TV icon David Letterman gate-crashed Jimmy Fallon's 'Tonight Show' monologue on Monday night, February 10, strolling onto the stage while the host was riffing about Sunday's Super Bowl.

Returning to his old haunt at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Letterman ended up leaving both studio staff and viewers at home in awe with his surprise appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.'

Jimmy Fallon ecstatic to have David Letterman on his late-night show

David Letterman appeared on 'The Tonight Show' on Monday night as the Roots were replaced by his old bandleader Paul Shaffer and his World's Most Dangerous Band.

Fallon's regular band, The Roots, is taking this week off in order to get ready for Friday's 'SNL50: The Homecoming Concert' on Peacock, per The Hollywood Reporter.

"Oh, my God!" a shocked to his very core Fallon exclaimed as the veteran of the late-night talk show stepped onto the platform. He continued, "David Letterman?! My God! What are you doing here?"

Letterman asked, "Is this the 23rd hour of the Today show?" while being totally relaxed. "Paul?! What are you doing here?!" he murmured, turning to face the musical director.

Letterman responded with a joke, "Wow. You’ve been reading my diary."

He further added that he and Shaffer "used to do a show pretty much exactly like this" before Fallon enquired if the late-night show icon wanted to tell some jokes.

This prompted a man with a cue card to emerge so Letterman could examine the information before deciding against it. He responded, "I’m good, thanks."

Having led the band on 'Late Night with David Letterman' for 33 years, Shaffer has a strong relationship with Letterman. 

Letterman hosted 'The Late Show' from 1982 until 2015, per The US Sun.

David Letterman makes late-night TikTok video cameo

Letterman, who retired from CBS' 'Late Night with David Letterman' in 2015, joked that he has been working on TikTok and that he "made an enormous deal with the Chinese government."

"I made an enormous deal with the Chinese government," Letterman quipped, in response to Fallon's suggestion that they perform the "handshake challenge" for a viral TikTok moment.

Letterman then asked if anyone had any tortillas on hand, and he used them to slap Fallon across the face. The two chat show hosts then repeatedly slapped each other after Letterman struck Fallon in the face with a tortilla.

"Yeah, that was lame," Letterman said after they finished making the clip, adding, "What I really want to do is hit you in the face with a tortilla."

He also agreed with Fallon's suggestion that they immediately create their own viral video, in which Shaffer held the camera while they performed "the handshake challenge."

Later, Fallon said, "I think you cracked a crown," and Letterman responded, "We'll see you in court," before leaving the stage.

Fans adorably react to David Letterman's 'legendary' cameo

Following David Letterman's appearance on the show, fans reacted swiftly, with one exclaiming on X (formerly Twitter), "Legendary!"

A second fan commented, "All Legends. Would have loved to also see David do a top 10 list."

"Wow 3 Icons creating a classic moment for the history book," exclaimed a third fan.

Another suggested, "Maybe Jimmy should take a vacation & the Godfather with Paul should fill in for a week?"

"Only reason I stopped to watch- The Goat David Letterman," said one.

One remarked, "It’s not often to see David Letterman having fun and always smiling! Thank you @jimmyfallon for this unusual extraordinary moment! #FallonTonight"

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