Fans Think David Letterman's Best Interview Moment Ever Took Place In 2022, And It Wasn't Supposed To Air

Summary

• Letterman's approach has drastically changed on Netflix, with longer, more personal interviews with guests like Billie Eilish.
• Fans praise Letterman's classy handling of Eilish's Tourette's revelation, showing respect and empathy in the interview.
• The interview with Eilish highlights the importance of handling sensitive topics with kindness and understanding, a masterclass in interviewing.

David Letterman is an icon. However, fans are well aware that his interviews can take shaky turns. That was the case for several years on late night programming. Since signing his deal with Netflix, things have changed drastically. Letterman has a personable approach with his guests. The interviews are also completely different and very in-depth, unlike his past chats which featured 10-minute conversations, with multiple punchlines from the host.

His interview with Billie Eilish continues to trend two years later. Letterman put on a masterclass in how hosts should approach certain discomfort during an interview. Credit to Letterman for going off the script, and props to Eilish for her reaction. She handled it all like a true pro, and gave fans insights on what it is like to live with Tourette's.

David Letterman Wanted To Stop His Interview With Billie Eilish After She Started Ticking

David Letterman's run on late night television concluded in 2015. After, the host returned three years later thanks to a massive Netflix deal. He signed on to host My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, taking on personal and lengthy interviews with some of the biggest names in the world.

Among his most recent guests for season 5 include Miley Cyrus and Charles Barkley.

However, there is one interview that fans keep going back to, and it is Dave's interview alongside Billie Eilish back in 2022. This moment would have been edited out, as Letterman questions if a fly was in the room after Eilish twitched. However, he'd then find out her tick was due to Tourette's Syndrome.

He says, "What's going on, a fly?" Eilish answers, "No, I'm ticking." Eilish adds, “If you film me for long enough, you’re gonna see lots of tics."

Fans argue that Letterman's response was the classiest moment of his career, as he asks Eilish for permission to continue on, and if she's okay with discussing it.

"I'm guilty of that. We're sitting here talking, everything is fine. And then, because I'm me, I think I've said something that's pissed you off. I just thought she's fed up with me, but that's me."

Credit to Eilish who was completely open about it.

"The most common way that people react is they laugh because they think I’m trying to be funny…and I’m always left incredibly offended by that."

Eilish continues, “What’s funny is so many people have it that you would never know. A couple artists came forward and said, ‘I’ve actually always had Tourette’s,’ and I’m not gonna out them because they don’t wanna talk about it, but that was actually really interesting to me.”

For those that missed it, the moment is worth looking back on, and a masterclass on how to handle these types of situations during interviews.

The season 4 moment was viewed by over 5 million fans on YouTube.

Letterman's interview with Eilish got a lot of reaction online, and it was all love for Dave.

David Letterman Was Universally Praised For His Reaction To Billie Eilish's Tourette's Syndrome

The reaction could not have been any better for David Letterman. Of course, given his history as a host, that hasn't always been the case, as Letterman is known to be an intimidating interviewer. The likes of Julia Roberts admits she avoided Letterman for years in fear he'd embarrass her on the air.

However, in this particular interview, it was very much the opposite side of Letterman. Fans took note.

The most liked YouTube comments read:

• "The way he asked permission before proceeding to discuss about Billie’s Tourettes."
• "I'm so shocked to see an interviewer have so much respect and kindness towards someone,especially someone with a health problem. Absolutely love this and I'm so happy she's comfortable enough to talk about it and not feel the need to hide."
• "It's extremely respectful considering we live in an age of disrespect where people fake having tourettes and other things just for attention on tik tok."
• "What a mature respectful way to conduct a difficult conversation. The world needs more of this to bring these things to light. Thank you to both of you."

David Letterman also discussed Billie Eilish's intense songwriting process during My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.

Here's to hoping the two reunite in some capacity down the road for another chat.

Billie Eilish Had The Opposite Experience During An Interview with Jimmy Kimmel

Eilish had some tough interview moments, both on and off camera. Ironically, two of them took place with Jimmy Kimmel. Eilish was trolled for not knowing who Van Halen was, but blamed the host for the moment. She made sure Kimmel knew all about it during return to the show.

"Wait, really quick, do you remember last time I was here? And you made me look a little stupid. I thought it was funny because I was playing along, and everybody thought I was actually serious and didn’t know anything. I did know [them]. Yes, there was a lot things you asked, and I was like, ‘I don’t know.'”

Making matters worse, Eilish was shocked by the boos she received outside of Kimmel's show, after refusing to sign autographs.

"I started to walk away because I realized none of these people actually cared about anything that had to do with me as a person," Billie explained. "I walked over there only to say hi, only to hug people and I got pictures of me shoved into my face. I got no love whatsoever, so I left and then I got booed and [got] called a little b***** and got told I was going to lose my Grammy nominations."

A forgettable experience for Eilish, to say the least.