Michael Douglas revealed he eventually refused to appear on David Letterman’s late night talk show because he felt the host “went too far” with him at one point, and “had a real nasty sense of humor.”
“I had been a regular guest on Letterman’s show earlier in my career, but the last time I was on, I felt David went too far,” Douglas writes in his memoir, “One Helluva Ride,” per People.
The “Wall Street” actor, 82, recalls Letterman airing a commercial filmed by Douglas’ late mother, Diana Dill, during a “Late Show” segment “without warning.”
The talk show host “started grilling” him about it, Douglas writes, adding, “It felt like he was making fun of my mother.”
The appearance left Douglas with a feeling that Letterman “had a real nasty sense of humor” and triggered Douglas to refuse further appearances on the popular variety hour, he writes.
“After that, whenever the producers of the show requested to have me back on, I always refused,” the “Fatal Attraction” star writes.
“I said no for 18 straight years. Dave wrote me personal letters to apologize, but my feelings didn’t change. He had crossed a line.”
Douglas ultimately decided to “bury the hatchet” with Letterman, 79, following his 2010 cancer diagnosis — and the comedian was “respectful” while “asking sincere and sympathetic questions,” Douglas writes.
The “Ant-Man” actor writes in the memoir, “It felt so nice to clear the air with Dave, and for the first time I felt like life is too short to hold on to feuds.”
He continues, “Letting go felt like it was more of a favor to myself than to Dave. Those grudges were a weight I carried, and I was done with revenge.”
Douglas has unveiled a number of stunning revelations in the bombshell book leading up to its release — including his affair with Jeanne Tripplehorn and his dramatic weight loss due to his battle with cancer, as well as the staggering amount of women he had to call up and turn down when then-girlfriend, now-wife Catherine Zeta-Jones told him that she wanted to be exclusive.
Douglas and Zeta-Jones, 57, began dating in 1998 after meeting at Deaville American Film Festival.
While the pair were having a drink together the night they met, Douglas, as he recalls in his books, famously told Zeta-Jones, “I’m going to be the father of your children.”
That turned Zeta-Jones off, and she walked out on the pair’s date, but the two eventually married two years later and now share a son and a daughter.
“One Helluva Ride” hit bookshelves on Tuesday.
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