Tony Mendez, David Letterman's longtime cue card holder, has been fired after an alleged altercation with a writer. INSIDE EDITION spoke to Mendez about the incident.
David Letterman's cue card guy and fan favorite Tony Mendez has been fired after an explosive backstage physical altercation.
Mendez appears regularly on the Letterman show playing himself and sometimes bantering with the late night legend.
Mendez says he was fired after he grabbed a Letterman writer by his shirt collar and threw him against the wall at Letterman’s studios in Midtown Manhattan. Mendez says he'd been feuding with the writer for "a long time" and then just lost it.
Mendez admits he's got quite a temper. In a video posted on YouTube, he said, “I look like a jolly person but inside I’m filled with rage."
Mendez said the day before his big fight with writer Bill Scheft, Letterman told him, "Your sour disposition isn't helping." To which Mendez says he replied, “You're the one who has the sour disposition," followed by an expletive.
Mendez insists it was no big deal and that he and Letterman often engaged in such off-color banter.
INSIDE EDITION caught up with Mendez on Monday as he was about to free a mouse he had caught.
He wouldn't talk about the faceoff with the writer but he was full of praise for Letterman.
He told INSIDE EDITION, "I don't want to talk about that incident. Dave is the best boss in the world. He is very generous. I love him."
So cue the farewell music for Letterman's cue card guy.
