I wasn't sure if it was a real joke or not because I was flipping channels right before the Sonyesque explosion.

Lets be serious though...
Richard Simmons is too feminine and flamboyant not to be able to take a joke. And I'm referring to the jokes by Dave before the fire.

Go-Go Karts? I'm with Dave on this one.

I suspect Mr. Simmons has been in on the joke for the last fifteen years... how else do you think he pulls a paycheck?

Oh if you want your own exploding steamer HomeVisions will sell it to you for 30 bucks more than Simmons' quoted it at:

http://www.homevisions.com/hvprod/prod_display1.asp?Produc...

Richard Simmons is the man, I wish he was still visiting the Stern show cause he's the funniest on there.

That's like 'old-timey-person' humor.

SaintJohnson is right: if a man has inclinations toward flamboyance, he MUST be prepared to participate in his own mockery. We must not, under any circumstances, permit unusual people to feel comfortable behaving however they choose.

Havn't laughed so hard at work in a long time, thanks Ben! That had to be staged, at least on the Late nights side. That flash was way to well timed and "flamboyant" to of been a coincidence.

Actually, proof that Simmons has a sense of humor about it all is that he didn't sue Letterman for libel because his product's good name could have been ruined by the joke.

Special K:
Not so fast... It just happened Wednesday.
He can still sue. He didn't laugh one bit.

He cracked a MJ-referenced joke, but he didn't laugh.

Matty:
If a man, flamboyant or not, wears short ballhugger striped workout shorts with a glittery tank top everytime he's on TV, he should be prepared for mockery.

And that makes it okay.

You know what? This guy has helped more people around the world lose weight, live longer and lead better lives than everyone who's ever commented on Gawker, Consumerist and Defamer combined time about 100.

Dave "aka" Shitbag Letterman set this guy on fire the last time he came on his terrible (all late night talk shows are the sewage of tv imho) "show" and Simmons came back because he is at his core, a good man and willing to mend fences.

Read his bio sometime, he actually did something positive with his life. This is America, we are free to be who we are and I also bet Simmons is more at peace and happy with who he is than most anyone I've ever met.

And no, I've never bought or used any of Simmon's exercise stuff. Kinda of sick of good people being mocked in this country. And around the world.

:-)

And he also gives unconditional love to people we readily mock on a daily basis, the "socially ugly", the morbidly obese, and the women and men who are hanging by a thread because they don't fit in to what out bullshit society considers attractive. Simmons rocks and we could all learn something about tolerance from him.

Okay, now that was really funny :D

I seriously doubt Richard Simmons takes himself that seriously...I'm pretty sure it's part of his schtick.

Obviously, the lower tray ("it doesn't come with this thing") was from the Late Night prop department. You know, even if he lost a few sales from people who thought that was real, he probably tripled the interest in his product.

Besides, nobody ever busy anything based on stuff they see on TV or the Internet.

Oh.

Umm...

Nevermind.

(Thanks a lot Dave...I WAS going to take my Richard Simmon steamer on a cross-country flight and steam some vegetables, but now I bet the TSA will ban them on airline flights).

This is great. I just can't tell if Simmons is really annoyed or just playing along. And I don't remember Letterman having that much hair last time?

What a huge, pointless POS appliance.

Aestheticity: I'm pretty sure he's playing along. I think if he were really genuinely pissed off every time Letterman did that to him, I don't think he'd come back to the show (which he has several times).

The great irony here is that I watched this clip on my Dell laptop-- powered by a Sony battery, fire extinguisher in hand:)

Well he's a good sport then. Can anyone dig up a video of the time someone mentioned when Letterman set him on fire before?

Triteon, I hope that's a Class D fire extinguisher you've got there. If not, your best bet is a bucket of sand. Or just let it burn and call the fire department.

Richard definitely does have a sense of humor about himself. Anyone remember his appearance on Whose Line Is It Anyway?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwQnlZIAfg4

Michael, I'm with you: Richard's appearance on Whose Line was the funniest freaking segment they ever did!

Doesn't he ever change his clothes? I use that term loosely.

What a huge, pointless POS appliance.

Maybe you think so but I honestly think thats a great idea, if it works. I have a steamer at home that I like to use, but some things take longer then others and it can make cooking more then one thing with it per meal a pain.

The size however would keep me from buying it, but hell a steamer like that with two trays would rock. I could do rice and a veggie at the same time.

Albeit goofy, he's a good guy who has helped many people.

Rather shocked and awed that this hasn't crept in the comments yet, so here goes:

What. A. FLAMER!