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"Eternally upbeat fitness guru Richard Simmons doesn&amp;apos;t have a bad word to say about anybody--even when they deserve it.\r\nIn a new interview with Men&amp;apos;s Health, the aerobics icon opens up about his speaking engagements over the years, including his &amp;quot;many&amp;quot; appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman.\r\n&amp;quot;I love David. He&amp;apos;s more complicated than any of them, that David,&amp;quot; Simmons shares. &amp;quot;You know, I&amp;apos;ve never actually met him? . . . You do the show with him, and when they go to commercial, they remove you. You&amp;apos;re just not allowed to talk to him. Or if you are, he&amp;apos;s very standoffish.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nAfter years of being ignored, Simmons says he&amp;apos;s not so sure he&amp;apos;d want to sign on for another guest gig alongside the late night host.\r\n&amp;quot;Maybe one day, when the time and everything is right. Because I do love him,&amp;quot; the fitness icon muses. &amp;quot;The last time I was on, we went to commercial and I was like, &amp;apos;I&amp;apos;d love to meet your wife!&amp;apos; He was like, &amp;apos;You never will.&amp;apos; And then I was like, &amp;apos;And see your son!&amp;apos; And he was like, &amp;apos;You&amp;apos;ll never see him.&amp;apos; And then we come back from the commercial and he&amp;apos;s all friendly with me again.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nAdds Simmons, &amp;quot;You think I&amp;apos;m kidding, but I&amp;apos;m not making this up.&amp;quot;\r\nSimmons also shares his thoughts on fitness-focused reality shows, a la The Biggest Loser.\r\n&amp;quot;I&amp;apos;m not into any show that makes people compete when they lose weight,&amp;quot; Simmons--who has spoken candidly about his struggles to get healthy--says. &amp;quot;I think the show has some merit. . . But voting off people every week because they didn&amp;apos;t lose enough weight. . . That&amp;apos;s terrible. Who are you competing against? It&amp;apos;s you.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nSimmons says he isn&amp;apos;t going to let any negativity--from peers, or the media more generally--get him down. The 63-year-old workout enthusiast still teaches &amp;quot;a full hour-and-twenty-five-minute class,&amp;quot; three days a week--and says he has no intention of slowing down.\r\n&amp;quot;I wouldn&amp;apos;t be able to sit still,&amp;quot; Simmons tells the mag about possible retirement plans. &amp;quot;If I have to die, I want to combust in the middle of one of my classes.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/richard-simmons-david-letterman-is-very-standoffish-2012284>