David Letterman Tells Failed Sexist Joke to ‘Late Show’ Audience

If only David Letterman would present a top ten list of appropriate times for a talk show host to walk away from comedy. He might have found a perfect candidate for no. 1.

Letterman stunned a live studio audience prior to filming Monday night’s The Late Show, after he allegedly made a sexist joke that was met with complete silence, according to Page Six.

A college staffer reportedly asked the 68-year-old if there was any advice he would like to give to the graduating class of 2015. Instead of offering insight into what has inspired his decades-long career, the host’s answer is again calling into question his true opinion of women.

Treat a lady like a whore,” Letterman replied, “and a whore like a lady.”

A source told Page Six Letterman’s joke was met with complete silence.

“I turned to my wife and was, like, ‘What?’ ” the person said. “It was really the first joke of the evening, and it seemed like an odd choice.”

After the failed joke, Letterman attempted a recovery by instead asking the teens to “eat a lot of salad” and always be nice, the website reports.

The longtime host, who is married, was forced to admit to having “creepy” sex with multiple female staffers in 2009, and, according to Gawker, was called out in Vanity Fair by one of very few female ex-writers for creating “a hostile, sexually charged atmosphere.”

Letterman’s Monday quip was first told by Wilson Mizner, a screenwriter from the 1930s, who was also quoted as saying, “Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll meet them on your way down.”

Letterman has been in a steady descent for quite some time.