David Letterman, Now (and Then)
As a fan, it seems like Dave is playfully complaining about his wife’s commentary being bothersome, but in reality, he’s just finding another way to joke about himself. It appears that the underlying message behind her ‘Dave-splaining’ is that his fame has diminished so much that people might mistake him for a lost elderly man. Dave admits, “I used to expect the audience, whether one or a thousand, to understand that it was a joke.” However, he laments, “The number of people who know who I am is decreasing daily. In a sense, she’s actually helping me because I could easily be mistaken for someone who needs assistance and escorted out of here.