Tuesday night, talk show host David Letterman did some big time damage control and apologized to Rachael Ray for giving her a hard time during her taped appearance (set to air Friday), but then went on an epic rant trying to explain himself further. He blamed television food programming like Cupcake Wars and Man v Food and bashed the "culture of abundance," specifically bringing up things like Carl Jr's footlong cheeseburger.

He continued: "There are two networks in this country about food! Zesty summer salads? Oh, fine. In parts of Africa, kids eat dirt just so their stomachs have a full feeling. Zesty summer salads? Come on, really?" And then: "50 million people are starving in this country. They go to bed hungry, but before they doze off, let's watch Cupcake Wars."

Following Alton Brown's lead, he went after what can only be assumed to be the show Man v Food and host Adam Richman:

There's another one where a guy goes around eating and he tries to eat himself sick. The goal of the show is, I don't care what it is, I'm going to eat until I explode. And he gets paid to do this. And he goes to a different city every week and tries to consume something huge, like the size of the desk. Oh, no one's ever even this waffle before! Good luck Pepe! .... These are programs ideal for the kids who go to bed hungry every night. Let's see the fat guy stuff himself and founder like a race horse.

And then he apologized:

So this is my point I'm trying to make to Rachael Ray, and she leaves, perfectly nice, she didn't do anything, it was like watching a head-on bus crash, that's all she was doing. So then this morning we get the email from her publicist, and uh, um... and the guy asks a reasonable enough question "Was Dave mad at Rachael?" No, I'm not mad at Rachael, I'm just nuts. There's something wrong with me. So if you see Rachael, tell her I'm sorry. She didn't do anything wrong... There really is something wrong with me. I don't know what it is and I'm seeking professional help... Rachael, I'm very sorry. I got carried away. I'll admit, you had every reason to be alarmed. I'm so sorry.

Tacking on an apology at the end of a rant like that is sort of not an apology!



Video: Letterman Rants



See the taped segment that inspired this rant here.



· David Letterman Grills Rachael Ray About Food Television [-E-]

· All Rachael Ray Coverage on Eater [-E-]

· All David Letterman Coverage on Eater [-E-]