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Did David Letterman handle the revelation of the extortion situation appropriately?
Or by treating it as part of his show did he further abuse the women that he'd been intimate with?
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/david-letterman-extortion-case-complete-coverage-1.1495513
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http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/david-letterman-extortion-case-complete-coverage-1.1495513
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October 03, 2009 04:50 PM
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_e017xwXXPbE/SfFprMrhjAI/AAAAAAAANkI/KrAhUnrs_iA/david...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-letterman3-2009oct03,0,7...
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091003/NEWS/910031073/1320?Title=Did...
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/browbeat/archive/2009/10/02/letterman-s-br...
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First of all the women he had sex with were not colleagues or co-workers, they worked for him. At least that 's what he said, and I for one believe him. It sure makes me wonder why so many folks have changed that status to co-workers or colleagues. Your hierarchical status makes a HUGE difference when it comes to sex in the workplace.
Second, Letterman hosts a COMEDY show, and entertainment show. Absolutely the wrong venue for an admission of possible sexual harassment. He had an audience who came expecting comedy and entertainment, and had just been warmed up by a humorous monologue. Then he launches into a "story". "Do you like stories? Do you want to hear a story". Throughout his "story" he tells jokes, pauses for laughter and applause, and even when he admits he had sex with women who worked for him ( not only foreshadowing possible harrasment lawsuits, but he's supposed to be in a committed relationship for MANY years?), he's still getting laughter and applause from the audience.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_e017xwXXPbE/SfFprMrhjAI/AAAAAAAANkI/KrAhUnrs_iA/david-letterman-marriage.jpg
"The comic did not express any contrition for cheating on his wife, Regina Lasko, whom he dated for 23 years before their marriage in March"
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-letterman3-2009oct03,0,7695511.story
If he wanted to make a public statement, he should have called a press conference. The least he could have done was tell his audience that it was a serious matter and please do not laugh or applaud. Of course in that case, he would have had to refrain from the jokes that he interspersed throughout the bit. Also, his ratings might not have gone up if he hadn't used it on the show.
"From a strictly business perspective, Letterman's revelations on Thursday's show were an immediate success: His overnight ratings were up 38 percent over the same night a week ago, the Nielsen Co. said."
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091003/NEWS/910031073/1320?Title=Did-Letterman-commit-sex-harassment-
In my opinion, the whole story/confession was just a part of his show to him. He made the decision to put it in, he made the decision of what to say, what jokes to tell, when to pause for laughter, how to portray himself (the victim), all in the context of his nightly entertainment show. To Letterman, this was just a part of his show, and it was not repectful of his wife or the women who worked for him, whom he slept with.
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Second, Letterman hosts a COMEDY show, and entertainment show. Absolutely the wrong venue for an admission of possible sexual harassment. He had an audience who came expecting comedy and entertainment, and had just been warmed up by a humorous monologue. Then he launches into a "story". "Do you like stories? Do you want to hear a story". Throughout his "story" he tells jokes, pauses for laughter and applause, and even when he admits he had sex with women who worked for him ( not only foreshadowing possible harrasment lawsuits, but he's supposed to be in a committed relationship for MANY years?), he's still getting laughter and applause from the audience.
"The comic did not express any contrition for cheating on his wife, Regina Lasko, whom he dated for 23 years before their marriage in March"
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-letterman3-2009oct03,0,7695511.story
If he wanted to make a public statement, he should have called a press conference. The least he could have done was tell his audience that it was a serious matter and please do not laugh or applaud. Of course in that case, he would have had to refrain from the jokes that he interspersed throughout the bit. Also, his ratings might not have gone up if he hadn't used it on the show.
"From a strictly business perspective, Letterman's revelations on Thursday's show were an immediate success: His overnight ratings were up 38 percent over the same night a week ago, the Nielsen Co. said."
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091003/NEWS/910031073/1320?Title=Did-Letterman-commit-sex-harassment-
In my opinion, the whole story/confession was just a part of his show to him. He made the decision to put it in, he made the decision of what to say, what jokes to tell, when to pause for laughter, how to portray himself (the victim), all in the context of his nightly entertainment show. To Letterman, this was just a part of his show, and it was not repectful of his wife or the women who worked for him, whom he slept with.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_e017xwXXPbE/SfFprMrhjAI/AAAAAAAANkI/KrAhUnrs_iA/david...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-letterman3-2009oct03,0,7...
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091003/NEWS/910031073/1320?Title=Did...
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/browbeat/archive/2009/10/02/letterman-s-br...
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October 03, 2009 02:34 AM
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How do we know the women were abused? I think he handled it genuinely, that's who he is. I think that mentioning it publicly was enough. If we find out later that he did something more than have sex with women that he worked with then in no way should it have been part of a bit for his show.
If he had these affairs while he was married then he'll have to deal with his wife on that. She probably won't think it's funny but taking responsibility and admitting what he has done is more than enough.
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If he had these affairs while he was married then he'll have to deal with his wife on that. She probably won't think it's funny but taking responsibility and admitting what he has done is more than enough.
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October 03, 2009 03:56 AM
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/david-letterman-extortion-case-complet... Helpful Answer? (0)
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Let's not forget SHE attempted to extort $2,000,000 from him! And like @cmajaski stated, we don't know that the women was abused. She has been charged with extortion, David Letterman has not been charged with anything. I think he handled the situation "A Okay". He admitted his part and did not give any of the woman's names that he has been involved with. He said that if they wanted to talk about the relationships he was fine with that. He also said that someone telling him that if he didn't give them two million dollars then they would cause trouble, now that was not okay. I agree!
Here is the video from YouTube if anyone missed it:
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Here is the video from YouTube if anyone missed it:
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/david-letterman-extortion-case-complet... Helpful Answer?
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October 03, 2009 03:58 PM
Ummm, not sure where you got your facts, but "she" didn't do anything. Letterman was being blackmailed by a man who had nothing to do with his affairs.
I think the only thing wrong with the way this was handled is that everyone referred to it as affairs. We were never given a specific time frame for when this happened, so they may have been affairs in that he was cheating on his wife or they may have simply been relationships with a woman or women on his staff.
So long as everyone involved was a consenting adult, David Letterman handled it a whole lot better than some ex-presidents's I've seen.
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I think the only thing wrong with the way this was handled is that everyone referred to it as affairs. We were never given a specific time frame for when this happened, so they may have been affairs in that he was cheating on his wife or they may have simply been relationships with a woman or women on his staff.
So long as everyone involved was a consenting adult, David Letterman handled it a whole lot better than some ex-presidents's I've seen.
October 03, 2009 04:03 AM
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To tell you the truth, at least from the clip I saw, I can't imagine a more professional way to handle it. He was honest, up front, to the point, and as funny as was appropriate. Of course people are still going to make Letterman jokes, but he seems to be coming through this with his head held high.
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October 03, 2009 05:10 AM
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I thought he did a fantastic job of it. He did it in his usual tone, so everyone knows that for him, the show goes on and this isn't changing him. I laughed all the way through it when I watched it last night. He was true to form and true to who he is.
And as far as 'further abusing...." where was the abuse in the first place? The accusation was that he'd had sex with some of the women on his staff. He didn't give names and he ever very carefully and clearly said that he had to protect those women and it was up to them to decide if they wanted to come out with their affairs, not him.
I thought for the situation he handled it quite well. It will be interesting to see how the rest of this plays out in court though with the extortionist.
I found myself wondering, "Who was stupid enough to take a 2 million dollar check and think no one at a bank or somewhere was going to question?" (shaking head)
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And as far as 'further abusing...." where was the abuse in the first place? The accusation was that he'd had sex with some of the women on his staff. He didn't give names and he ever very carefully and clearly said that he had to protect those women and it was up to them to decide if they wanted to come out with their affairs, not him.
I thought for the situation he handled it quite well. It will be interesting to see how the rest of this plays out in court though with the extortionist.
I found myself wondering, "Who was stupid enough to take a 2 million dollar check and think no one at a bank or somewhere was going to question?" (shaking head)
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October 03, 2009 04:02 PM
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I thought that David Letterman handled this with style and a lot more fore thought and good PR than dozens of other people who have had affairs over the years.
Presumably in the time between the original extortion demand and the arrest of the suspect, Letterman had time to speak to those who woulod potentially be hurt by the information (his wife and son). He had several weeks to handle that on a personal level as it should be done.
Then, he knew that the arrest of the suspect would cause a media frenzy. Instead of ducking the questions, or trying to pretend it didn't exist, he faced it head on, addressed his role in the events and, to be the best of his ability, continued to protect the woman/women he was involved with.
All in all, I thought it was a pretty classy way to handle himself. Other people should learn to be so forthright and might find that their political careers rebounded a lot better.
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Presumably in the time between the original extortion demand and the arrest of the suspect, Letterman had time to speak to those who woulod potentially be hurt by the information (his wife and son). He had several weeks to handle that on a personal level as it should be done.
Then, he knew that the arrest of the suspect would cause a media frenzy. Instead of ducking the questions, or trying to pretend it didn't exist, he faced it head on, addressed his role in the events and, to be the best of his ability, continued to protect the woman/women he was involved with.
All in all, I thought it was a pretty classy way to handle himself. Other people should learn to be so forthright and might find that their political careers rebounded a lot better.
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October 03, 2009 08:14 PM
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Given what I know about show business, I'd have been amazed to learn, say from something like post-mortum memoirs, that he had *not* had sex with some of the people he worked with.
The entertainment industry is high pressure with strrict deadlines, and I've never been in a high pressure work environment with long hours and extreme deadlines when people *didn't* find ways to slip away and have some fast sex.
In other words, news that David Letterman had gotten it on with some of this staff and/or coworkers was about as suprising, and interesting, as hearing new scientific confirmation that the earth is not flat.
In terms of how he handled it? He's not a politician, so he had nothing to maintain by running a cover up. Just fess up, and get on with the show. And that's what he did.
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The entertainment industry is high pressure with strrict deadlines, and I've never been in a high pressure work environment with long hours and extreme deadlines when people *didn't* find ways to slip away and have some fast sex.
In other words, news that David Letterman had gotten it on with some of this staff and/or coworkers was about as suprising, and interesting, as hearing new scientific confirmation that the earth is not flat.
In terms of how he handled it? He's not a politician, so he had nothing to maintain by running a cover up. Just fess up, and get on with the show. And that's what he did.
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stanar
"The comic did not express any contrition for cheating on his wife, Regina Lasko, whom he dated for 23 years before their marriage in March"
I dont understand where the society is heading towards...cheaters are accepted as heros!
He is using that as publicity stunt obviously! And he is going to write a book on this and people will buy it and he will make millions on the book deal!
I can recall the movie "15 minutes". Media people like big investors/market manipulators make money either way and anyway.
fredisrigh...