David Letterman Says He Stayed on TV for Too Long: 'Nobody Had the Guts to Fire Me'

David Lettermanhas had a long, illustrious career in late night television — but he actually wishes he had cut it a little shorter.Appearing onThe Ellen DeGeneres Showon Thursday, Letterman, 71, reflected on his many years of hosting, which began in 1982 withLate Night with David Lettermanon NBC and ended 33 years later with theLate Show with David Lettermanon CBS in 2015.“Here’s the mistake I made — I stayed on television way too long,” he toldEllen DeGeneres, 61.“That’s not true,” she said.“Yes, it is true,” he insisted. “And I’ll tell you what happened: It turns out, nobody had the guts to fire me. I should have left like, 10 years ago. You want to make sure you have some energy to direct towards other things. Now you, nothing but energy, are doing other things while you’re on television, so that’s great. I did not.”“All I cared about was myself and then the show was gone so I had to realize,oh, I’ve been looking through the wrong end of the telescope. There is more to life than, ‘So tell me about your pet beaver,'” he continued.Last year, Letterman resumed his hosting duties in a different capacity with the six-episodeMy Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Lettermanon Netflix, which consists of interviews with one high-profile guest per hour-long episode. Season 1 featuredBarack Obama,George Clooney,Malala Yousafzai,JAY-Z,Tina FeyandHoward Stern.RELATED VIDEO: George Clooney Tells David Letterman About His Deep Love for Wife AmalNetflix confirmed a six-episode season 2 in December. Letterman confirmed onEllenthat DeGeneres will be a guest.“You know, it’s great,” he said. “And the reason it’s great is first of all, the Netflix people have been very generous to let an old man anywhere near their building.”TheEllen DeGeneresShowairs weekdays (check local listings).Season 1 ofMy Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Lettermanis streaming on Netflix. A premiere date for season 2 has not yet been announced.

David Lettermanhas had a long, illustrious career in late night television — but he actually wishes he had cut it a little shorter.

Appearing onThe Ellen DeGeneres Showon Thursday, Letterman, 71, reflected on his many years of hosting, which began in 1982 withLate Night with David Lettermanon NBC and ended 33 years later with theLate Show with David Lettermanon CBS in 2015.

“Here’s the mistake I made — I stayed on television way too long,” he toldEllen DeGeneres, 61.

“That’s not true,” she said.

“Yes, it is true,” he insisted. “And I’ll tell you what happened: It turns out, nobody had the guts to fire me. I should have left like, 10 years ago. You want to make sure you have some energy to direct towards other things. Now you, nothing but energy, are doing other things while you’re on television, so that’s great. I did not.”

“All I cared about was myself and then the show was gone so I had to realize,oh, I’ve been looking through the wrong end of the telescope. There is more to life than, ‘So tell me about your pet beaver,'” he continued.

Last year, Letterman resumed his hosting duties in a different capacity with the six-episodeMy Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Lettermanon Netflix, which consists of interviews with one high-profile guest per hour-long episode. Season 1 featuredBarack Obama,George Clooney,Malala Yousafzai,JAY-Z,Tina FeyandHoward Stern.

RELATED VIDEO: George Clooney Tells David Letterman About His Deep Love for Wife Amal

Netflix confirmed a six-episode season 2 in December. Letterman confirmed onEllenthat DeGeneres will be a guest.

“You know, it’s great,” he said. “And the reason it’s great is first of all, the Netflix people have been very generous to let an old man anywhere near their building.”

TheEllen DeGeneresShowairs weekdays (check local listings).

Season 1 ofMy Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Lettermanis streaming on Netflix. A premiere date for season 2 has not yet been announced.

source: people.com