This Bruce Willis Stunt Made David Letterman Walk Off the ‘Late Show’ Set
"That’s the good part right there."
Bruce Willis once visited The Late Show while donning a hat made of raw meat—and David Letterman gave the accessory a little taste.
The retch-worthy incident happened in 2010. The Sixth Sense star was inspired to wear meat atop his head after Lady Gaga famously wore her raw meat dress to that year’s MTV Video Music Awards. Several comedians parodied her evening attire in the weeks that followed, and Willis decided to join the trend for his visit with Letterman.
When Willis made his appearance that night, he nonchalantly walked on stage to a hilariously shocked crowd. Letterman played it cool and asked Willis if he’d colored his hair recently before his guest explained himself.
“This is all natural… It’s a meat hair-piece inspired by, who’s that crazy, Gaga… Huge fan of Gaga,” he shared.
The actor went on to say that his hat was “100% ground beef sirloin. Top-shelf organic.” He added, “Showering isn’t a problem; I took a shower a couple of hours ago. Lather, rinse, repeat, and tenderize…”
Bruce Willis then dared David Letterman to take a bite of the. First, Willis asked if Letterman had eaten before the show. Then, he sprinkled salt and pepper over the hat and handed Letterman a fork.
“Dig in, buddy,” he told the talk show host. “Carefully. Carefully. Oh yes. That’s it. That’s the good part right there.”
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Letterman did, indeed, dig in. But when it came time to eat the treat, he paused. The audience rumbled with disgust, and Letterman clearly didn’t want to take the joke any further. Then, he went for it. He shoved the fork in his mouth and started chewing, but he couldn’t stomach the texture.
Holding up a finger, Letterman walked backstage. A camera followed and caught him spitting the meat into a trash can. When he went back to his seat, he joked that he wasn’t repulsed by the raw meat.
Despite the disgusting incident, David Letterman often admitted how much he enjoyed interviewing Bruce Willis. Willis visited the talk show 43 times, and according to Rolling Stone, Willis was Letterman’s favorite recurring guest.
In 2022, Willis retired from acting due to his declining health caused by frontotemporal dementia. Following the news, Letterman offered the actor a small tribute with a video montage that showcased their best Late Show moments, and the raw meat hat made the cut.
