What Happened To David Letterman? Bearded And Bald, Former ‘Late Show’ Host Let Himself Go, Twitter Claims

David Letterman, the former host of CBS’ “Late Show,” was unrecognizable when he was photographed going for a jog in St. Barts on Wednesday. He is now bald, bearded and looks to have gained weight since he left his television gig. Still, he seemed happy as ever, smiling during his workout session on his Caribbean vacation.

It’s been nearly a year since Letterman, 68, left “Late Show.” He decided to grow out his beard since he was “sick and tired of shaving” for the three decades he appeared on camera, he told the Whitefish Review in December.

“I had to shave every day, every day, for 33 years,” he said. “And even before that when I was working on local TV. And I just thought, the first thing I will do when I am not on TV is stop shaving. And everybody hates it. My wife hates it. My son hates it,” Letterman explained.

Even though his family doesn’t like the beard (and neither does the public after pictures of him went viral), Letterman doesn’t mind his new appearance. “I’ve kind of developed a real creepy look with it that I’m sort of enjoying,” he said. “I can tell that people are off-put by it. And the more people implore me to shave, the stronger my resolve is to not shave.”

“David Letterman” became a top-trending Twitter topic Wednesday. People discussed his new look, saying he looked more like Santa Claus than his former self. Most people said he “let himself go.”

Letterman has not responded to his extreme transformation since the St. Barts pictures circulated Wednesday. If he was going for anonymity, his cover has been blown.

Stephen Colbert replaced Letterman on “The Late Show.” It airs on CBS weeknights at 11:35 p.m. EDT.

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