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David Letterman just showed up on ‘The Tonight Show’ and 'slapped' Jimmy Fallon in his face

David Letterman crashes 'The Tonight Show,' roasts Jimmy Fallon, plays the tortilla game, then jokes about suing him.

David Letterman surely knows how to give surprises. Recently, Letterman made an unexpected appearance on Jimmy Fallon's 'The Tonight Show' and delivered a few sharp jokes. Letterman stopped by the show to see his longtime friend Paul Shaffer and The Roots, who were rehearsing for the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary concert. When Letterman arrived on the stage, Fallon was making jokes about the Super Bowl that took place on February 9, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. 

“David Letterman, what are you doing here?” Fallon asked Letterman. “Is this the 23rd hour of The Today Show?” Letterman said while roaming on the stage, as per Cracked. In his response, Fallon replied, "The Tonight Show." Shortly after, Letterman yelled, "Jimmy" and then, “Paul? What are you doing here?” Shafer responded by saying, “You know, it’s a funny story. You ever taken too much Ambien and then you wake up somewhere with no clue how the hell you got there?” Letterman jokingly quipped, “Wow. You’ve been reading my diary." 

At that point, Fallon gave Letterman a golden opportunity to share a few monologue jokes. Letterman went through Fallon's punchlines silently and shared, “I’m good, thanks." Fallon later convinced Letterman to do a viral challenge called “the handshake challenge." In the task, Fallon was seen jumping sideways to reach Letterman and shake his hand. Letterman was not at all impressed by the game and he shared, "That was lame." After the handshake challenge, Letterman decided to show off a bit of his sense of humor and style and said, “I was thinking when I came over here — what I’d really like to do is hit you in the face with a tortilla.”  

Letterman followed through and started playing the tortilla game with Fallon. Fallon, clearly not a fan of the game, told Letterman, “You keep slapping me. You’re only supposed to do it once!" Later on, in the episode, Shaffer also engaged in the game and gave a few slaps to Fallon with a tortilla. After all the action, Letterman gave Fallon one chance to slap him with a tortilla. Fallon took his turn and playfully slapped Letterman with a tortilla. According to Deadline, Letterman jokingly remarked, "I think you cracked a crown!” Then, Letterman bid farewell to the studio crowd. After getting a round of applause, Fallon told the fans, "I didn’t hurt him! He’s fine!” From backstage, Letterman screamed, “I’ll see you in court.”

Letterman has a long history with 'The Tonight Show.' In the past, the comedy legend has appeared on the talk show several times when Johnny Carson served as the host from 1962 to 1992. Back in the day, Letterman was also the guest host on the NBC talk show. Later on, Carson was replaced by Jay Leno who began hosting 'The Tonight Show' in 1993. Around the same time, Letterman was busy hosting 'Late Night,' which started in 1982. Letterman still wasn't angry after losing the hosting gig to Leno. During an appearance on 'The Tonight Show' in 1991, Letterman shed light on Leno replacing Carson as the host. As per Today, Letterman said, "I was never, never angry. Now, would I like to have the show? Oh sure."