Madonna Back on ‘Letterman’? It Depends

One of David Letterman’s producers said Friday that the CBS late-night show might be willing to have Madonna return as a guest, but not for a repeat of Thursday’s performance.

The singer used four-letter words 13 times during the taping of “Late Show With David Letterman” Thursday evening. She also threw in a couple of other expressions the network considered inappropriate.

CBS deleted the offending audio before the show was broadcast.

“If she’s going to pull the same thing she did on Thursday night, I don’t think it would be responsible of us to ask her back,” co-executive producer Robert Morton told The Times on Friday. “If she came to us and said she wants to come on and sing her latest song, I’d be willing to talk about that.”

Madonna was difficult from the outset, handing Letterman a pair of her panties as he greeted her onstage. He stuffed them in a desk drawer. Then she pouted and refused to chat about her career.

“Why are you so obsessed with my sex life?” Madonna demanded, referring to the frequent jokes Letterman makes about her on the air. Last week, for example, he said, “At a recent charity auction, an autographed bra worn by Madonna fetched only $200. I guess people figure why pay $200 for a Madonna bra when the chances are pretty good that she’ll leave one at your house.”

Thursday’s “Late Show” attracted 24% of the viewers in the 30 markets for which ratings were available Friday. CBS said the ratings in those cities were the 10th best the program has received, topped only by the first two telecasts last August and seven others that followed the Winter Olympics in February.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.