EPIC GRUDGE

Oscar Winner Reveals Why He Boycotted Letterman for Years

The A-lister and veteran late-night host feuded for nearly two decades.

Michael Douglas has finally revealed why he boycotted David Letterman’s show for nearly two decades.

In his new memoir, One Helluva Ride, the 82-year-old industry legend shared candid confessions, including his history with Letterman, 79.

“I had been a regular guest on Letterman’s show earlier in my career, but the last time I was on, I felt David went too far,” he wrote.

He described a segment in which his late mother, Diana Dill, had a pre-taped TV commercial that Letterman played “without warning,” Douglas said. He felt Letterman began “grilling” him about the segment, saying, “It felt like he was making fun of my mother.”

Douglas felt that the appearance “left me feeling like he had a real nasty sense of humor.”

“After that, whenever the producers of the show requested to have me back on, I always refused. I said no for eighteen straight years. Dave wrote me personal letters to apologize, but my feelings didn’t change. He had crossed a line,” said the star.

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Douglas stayed away from Letterman’s talk show for 18 years.

However, Douglas ultimately returned to The Late Show to make a significant announcement. The Wall Street actor decided to inform the public about his stage IV throat cancer diagnosis on the show.

“With this new diagnosis, it was time to bury the hatchet with Dave,” he explained. Douglas was diagnosed in 2010, and said Letterman asked “sincere and sympathetic questions” during his appearance. The two hugged when Douglas detailed his treatment.

The A-lister confessed that he and his father, actor Kirk Douglas, had a habit of holding grudges.

“For years, my father and I had held on to grudges, used them to fuel our achievements, and looked to show people it was a mistake to cross a Douglas,” he said.

“But it felt so nice to clear the air with Dave, and for the first time I felt like life is too short to hold on to feuds. Letting go felt like it was more of a favor to myself than to Dave,” wrote Douglas. “Those grudges were a weight I carried, and I was done with revenge.”

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Meera NavlakhaEntertainment Reporter

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