WASHINGTON: David Letterman recently visited “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and praised Kimmel for hosting the Oscars.
After shading Tom Cruise for not being present at the Oscars, he complimented Kimmel for hosting the show.
According to Variety, Letterman said, “More to the power of your success”.
He added, “If Mr Big Shot (Tom Cruise) was not there, the show was still never more successful. Nice going, Jimmy.”
He also mentioned to Kimmel that Tom Cruise shouldn’t have skipped the Academy Awards this year. He asked Kimmel, “Where was Tom Cruise?”
According to Variety, Cruise missed the 2023 Oscars despite “Top Gun: Maverick” receiving six Academy Award nominations.
Cruise was reportedly too busy filming the “Mission: Impossible” sequel in Italy to attend the ceremony, but the actor showed up in London two days later to attend Michael Caine’s 90th birthday celebration. Moreover, in February, Cruise attended the Oscar Nominees Luncheon.
“We don’t know where Tom Cruise was,” Kimmel answered Letterman. “We heard production issues.”
“What does that mean?” Letterman asked, as per Variety. “That’s nonsense.”
“Exactly. It’s very non-specific,” Kimmel said. “But we have no idea what happened.”
Letterman continued by saying that Cruise “should’ve been” celebrating his “big jet pack Maverick show” at the Oscars, to which Kimmel replied, “Yeah. It seems like he should’ve been there, but he was not there. Maybe he feels like he wasn’t going to win so he didn’t want to come.”
“But between you and me, he should have been there right?” Letterman then asked Kimmel, as per Variety.
Letterman, however, praised Kimmel for hosting the Oscars.
“More to the power of your success,” Letterman added. “If Mr Big Shot was not there, the show was still never more successful. Nice going, Jimmy.”
Not just Cruise but several well-known figures skipped the Oscars. James Cameron, the director of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” also didn’t appear, leading Kimmel to remark during his monologue, “You know, Tom and James Cameron didn’t show up tonight. The two guys who insisted we go to the theatre didn’t come to the theatre.” (ANI)