Maya Rudolph was left "embarrassed and humiliated" by David Letterman.

The 'Bridesmaids' star was "in love" with the former late-night television talk show host, but was left heartbroken when he said her name wrong on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' in 2009.

She told The Wall Street Journal: “He said my name wrong, and I just sat there, like, I grew up my whole life in love with you. And now my heart is broken.

“And I’m sitting here embarrassed and humiliated.

“I didn’t know how to handle it.

“I didn’t know how to come up with something funny to say. My public persona muscle wasn’t strong yet.”

On dealing with awkward situations, she added: “I’ve definitely gotten much better. When I’m uncomfortable, I try to be funny.”

David previously admitted he should have retired years before then.

The 75-year-old broadcaster stepped away from the programme in 2015 after more than 30 years and while he believes he outstayed his welcome by a decade, he claimed no one had "the guts" to fire him.

He said in 2019: "Yes it is true, and I'll tell you what happened.

"It turns out nobody had the guts to fire me. And I should have left like 10 years ago. You want to make sure you have some energy to direct toward other things."