Watch Kathy Griffin Strip Down for David Letterman

Funnylady re-creates her latest New Year's Eve shenanigans with the talk-show host, removing her dress on air

By Gina Serpe Jan 20, 2012 4:50 PMTags

There must be something about David Letterman's studio that makes visiting stars want to get naked.

Just ask Drew Barrymore. Or, now, Kathy Griffin, who by the end of her first segment on the Late Show last night had ended up in her underwear.

It all began when the funnylady was discussing her annual cohosting of CNN's New Year's Eve countdown with her BFF Anderson Cooper.

"You know, it went well for me," she told Dave. "Every year I try to up the ante a little bit. I've done it for five years now and I've been fired four years in a row…One year I said the f-word so I had to give the money back.

"I didn't want to get fired. So this year I thought, 'What can I do to not get canned?' I thought it would be appropriate in Times Square to create a moment, so I took my clothes off. I didn't tell anyone, I didn't tell Anderson."

Cut to the clip of Kathy indeed jumping up and down in her underwear at the stroke of midnight next to a flabbergasted Cooper.

"Wow, nice going," Letterman said prompting Kathy to re-create the moment on his stage.

"I mean David, I'll do it," she began, pulling down her dress strap.

"Go ahead. Wow, this is nice," Letterman replied, eager to help his guest (such an accommodating host, that one). "Is there anything I can do? I don't think I should…Wow, oh my, oh buddy. We're gonna need some pliers."

After a little teamwork and elbow grease, the dress did indeed come off. Well, almost.

"I didn't wear underwear because I didn't want a pantyline," Kathy explained to a clearly loving-it Letterman.

"Wow, oh man. By the way, you don't have to give the money back tonight. You're fine."

Leave it to Kathy Griffin to render a talk-show host at a loss for words.