David Letterman and Conan Obrien have been ganging up on rival chat show host Jay Leno. Appearing on last night's Late Show with David Letterman (May 17, 2012), the pair of TV personalities didn't waste any time before playing on old rivalries. As Conan sat down in the guest chair, there was a lengthy silence, before David finally said "I think the longer we just sit here, the more uncomfortable it will make Jay." Conan laughed, and said, "You know Jay's watching.?"
The history of the bad feeling against Leno is thus: Conan O'Brien very briefly hosted NBC's 'The Tonight Show,' before being usurped by Jay Leno. In 1992, a similar thing happened to Letterman, when Nbc passed over Letterman to sign up Jay Leno for the job. During the chat, Letterman said to his guest that he had known Jay Leno since the 1970s and remembered him fondly, as a brilliant comic, but added that he could also be "a bit of a brat." He added that when the O'Brien / Tonight show drama occurred he had thought to himself "Oh, there's the Jay I know."
In January 2010, O'Brien stepped down as the host of The Tonight Show and was replaced by Jay Leno. David Letterman says that he relished the attention and support that O'Brien received from other comics, saying "I was delighted by everything that happened, except you losing your job . I refer to that period as the golden age of broadcasting."