# Maya Rudolph insulted by Letterman? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967 "2022-10-29T15:37:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/1 "2022-10-29T15:37:25Z")
I have no idea who Maya Rudolph is but she is claiming Letterman humiliated her in 2009 by mispronouncing her name, even though he apologized. WTF? None of the stories tell what he said and why that would humiliate her. Anyone know? > **[Maya Rudolph Recalls Feeling 'Embarrassed and Humiliated' the First Time She...](https://people.com/tv/maya-rudolph-recalls-feeling-embarrassed-humiliated-first-appearance-david-letterman-talk-show/)** > > Bridesmaids star Maya Rudolph acknowledges her 'public persona muscle wasn't strong yet' during a 2009 appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/2 "2022-10-29T15:41:07Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > WTF? None of the stories tell what he said and why that would humiliate her. Anyone know? I gather he just said “Maya” wrong. And he apologized. As someone who mispronounces a lot of things, I think she should have corrected him and then forgot about it. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/3 "2022-10-29T15:42:50Z")
I’ve got a central european name that almost no one gets right. I could get an article in People magazine! ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/4 "2022-10-29T15:45:38Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Maya Rudolph is but she is claiming Letterman humiliated her in 2009 No, she said she felt humiliated and embarrassed, not that Letterman humiliated her. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/5 "2022-10-29T15:46:10Z")
The way I read it, she felt humiliated. It doesn’t mean he humiliated her. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/6 "2022-10-29T15:46:41Z")
I owe you a beer. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/7 "2022-10-29T15:48:14Z")
Also: > [@mixdenny](#): > > I have no idea who Maya Rudolph is Maybe read the article? ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/8 "2022-10-29T15:49:41Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > The way I read it, she felt humiliated. It doesn’t mean he humiliated her. Correct. But is her name pronounced oddly? Seems pretty simple. Isn’t it “My-yah”? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/9 "2022-10-29T15:51:23Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > But is her name pronounced oddly? May-a? My-a? who knows. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/10 "2022-10-29T15:58:38Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > > [@mixdenny](#): > > > > I have no idea who Maya Rudolph is > > Maybe read the article? Well I can see some of her roles listed. She seems like a very fragile person back then. I mean, it’s Letterman. Him mispronouncing something seems like a good opportunity to get some banter going. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/11 "2022-10-29T16:01:03Z")
“It’s pronounced ‘My-ah,’ Dav.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/12 "2022-10-29T16:02:44Z")
Well you have to remember that this is a man who was fascinated by the fact that Oprah kind of rhymes with Uma. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/13 "2022-10-29T16:06:20Z")
Mulva? This isn’t one of those Sade = “Shar-day” things is it? Is her name pronounced, “Mah-Jay” or something? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/14 "2022-10-29T16:15:35Z")
Her name was pronounced correctly every single Saturday night on national TV for seven years. Letterman mispronounced it two years after that stint ended when everybody in the country knew who she was except, apparently, Letterman and the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/15 "2022-10-29T16:16:08Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > She seems like a very fragile person back then. The [Wall Street Journal article](https://www.wsj.com/articles/comedy-innovator-2022-maya-rudolph-queen-comedy-saturday-night-live-11666732878) that this is based on is behind a paywall for me, but I can see the first paragraph, which says “But years ago, when it came to public-facing parts of her job—interviews, talk shows, red carpets—she would find herself unable to be funny.” So I’m guessing that this was offered as one off-hand example of how she wasn’t very comfortable or media-savvy back then. And then, I suspect, other, tabloidier media sources picked up this relative nothingburger and blew it out of proportion to use as clickbait. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/16 "2022-10-29T16:19:41Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Letterman mispronounced it two years after that stint ended when everybody in the country was aware of her existence except, apparently, Letterman and the OP. So you think he did it on purpose? That doesn’t sound like Letterman to me. I’ll give him _a little_ less slack because talking on TV was his actual job, and I’m sure someone told him who the guest would be that night (and presumably pronounced her name right) But, my god, people mispronounce things all the time. At least I do. I did a trial once and kept getting my client’s name wrong in front of the jury (and I had been working for her for two years and knew her name). ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/17 "2022-10-29T16:22:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > So you think he did it on purpose? That doesn’t sound like Letterman to me. Who knows? Maybe he thought it would be funny. It wouldn’t be the first time he made that kind of miscalculation on the fly. He certainly thought it was funny to always mispronounce the name of the second largest city in the country. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/18 "2022-10-29T16:46:11Z")
She should have just been happy to be on Letterman in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/19 "2022-10-29T16:54:58Z")
Just because someone is a performer (actor, comedian, singer, etc.) doesn’t mean that they like, are happy about, or are good at promoting themselves, talking about themselves, or appearing as themselves on talk shows. I doubt I would be. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maya-rudolph-insulted-by-letterman/973967/20 "2022-10-29T16:55:08Z")
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