Revisiting Madonna’s 1994 David Letterman Appearance by Jason Sheppard
“Our first guest tonight is one of the biggest stars in the world, and in the past 10 years she has sold over 80 million albums, starred in countless films and slept with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.”
With that introduction by David Letterman, on March 31st, 1994, world-wide mega-star Madonna walked out on stage of the Ed Sullivan Theater while Paul Schaffer and the CBS orchestra played “Holiday” for her entrance.
In Madonna’s hand was what appeared to be a cloth item of some sort which she handed to Dave while he was standing to greet the smiling star.
The item was a pair of her underwear which she goaded Dave into smelling (he didn’t.) Dave kept goading her into kissing a male audience member who very much wanted one (she didn’t.) After this, what unfolded was one of the most memorable and uncomfortable interviews in TV history.
“I’m only here because there isn’t a Knicks game. Don’t get excited,” the star began and with that opening comment, the audience immediately expressed their displeasure at the harmless but stinging insult. It didn’t get any better.
After numerous references to her underwear, her reported dating several members in the NBA (she was actually rumored to be dating the late rapper Tupac Shakur at the time) and her sex life some more, less than two minutes after she sat down, Madonna pointedly said to David Letterman, “You know, you really are a sick f–k!” This unexpected pronouncement caused the audience to scream and cheer while Paul and the band playfully struck some more musical notes from “Holiday.”
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