David Letterman

[LKellerIII]

trusty,

Are you trying to imply this whole thing is made up? If it were a hoax, wouldn't that cause major problems and embarrassment to CBS?

If this is the case, I think even Paul Schaffer, and Dave's Mom would stop watching the show!

Nah. Probably real. But it sure smells like a hoax.

Whatever. And the whole thing is so stupid I don't mind taking liberties with the "story". (And in NO way amI talking about anyone's marriage relationship.) I mean, you've got more brains than to take a two-million dollar CHECK for payment, don't you?

"Sure, Dave, I'm gonna expose you if you don't give me the "money" that I want. but I guess I trust you enough to take a CHECK so I can go try to deposit it. No problem, Buddy."

Logic, people...logic.

Yes - the alleged blackmailer is stupid, but desperate people do stupid and desperate things. By contrast, think how stupid Letterman would have to be to perpetrate such a hoax. First, it's blatanly illegal, and he would risk exposure which would discredit him forever, hold him up to extreme ridicule, and end his job.

Besides, his ratings have been on the rise anyway - before the hoax - and the man has enough money for about a dozen lifetimes.

 

[benwolf]

Other celebs and politicians take note: for a man in Dave's position, he couldn't have addressed it in a better way.

 

[Skynet74]

Other celebs and politicians take note: for a man in Dave's position, he couldn't have addressed it in a better way.

I agree. I'm confident in saying that no matter how bad this all turns out for Letterman, it still would ended up much worse for him if he had lied about what happened.

 

[Silkie]

trusty,

Are you trying to imply this whole thing is made up? If it were a hoax, wouldn't that cause major problems and embarrassment to CBS?

If this is the case, I think even Paul Schaffer, and Dave's Mom would stop watching the show!

Nah. Probably real. But it sure smells like a hoax.

Whatever. And the whole thing is so stupid I don't mind taking liberties with the "story". (And in NO way amI talking about anyone's marriage relationship.) I mean, you've got more brains than to take a two-million dollar CHECK for payment, don't you?

"Sure, Dave, I'm gonna expose you if you don't give me the "money" that I want. but I guess I trust you enough to take a CHECK so I can go try to deposit it. No problem, Buddy."

Hoax, setup, somebody getting a cut...who knows, but something doesn't smell too good about the whole thing. Nevertheless, he handled a blackmail attempt properly if it is as he claims it is. Do we really take show people all too seriously though?

 

[quadraphonic]

He only did what he had to do: beat the media to the punch of exposing his mess.
He shouldn't exactly get credit for doing that, because all he was doing was protecting himself, same thing he was doing when he didn't confess to his wife or his fans when it happened. He wasn't "honest" when it happened, only when it was exposed in a grand jury hearing and presumably in court it might get worse future publicity.
He did better than some people have done, but not as good as people seem to be giving him credit for.
Whatever happened to shame?

 

[imhomerjay]

Who's to say he isn't ashamed? Is everyone who is ashamed of their actions to wear a self-imposed scarlet letter every moment of the day? Are they to stop living their lives entirely because they did make the mistake?
None of us really knows what he feels vis a vis remorse, regret and shame.

 

[quadraphonic]

Who's to say he isn't ashamed? Is everyone who is ashamed of their actions to wear a self-imposed scarlet letter every moment of the day? Are they to stop living their lives entirely because they did make the mistake?
None of us really knows what he feels vis a vis remorse, regret and shame.

There are other varieties of shame, one in the sense that it should have kept him from doing what he did in the first place, not in throwing on sackcloth in the aftermath of being caught. Like he would do that on a late night comedy talk show anyway.

He didn't feel it enough to stop from doing it "back then," so why would we assume he's feeling it now? Did he mention shame during his confessions, or even that he was "sorry?" [which is regret, not shame]

 

[cspotrun]

Other celebs and politicians take note: for a man in Dave's position, he couldn't have addressed it in a better way.

i'm tired people giving letterman CREDIT for this incident. he should get CREDIT for NOTHING!! he's a filandering weasel! to his wife and his family and now we all know it, that is all that needs to be said. what's wrong with YOU PEOPLE?

 

[Prais]

Cspot said, "what's wrong with YOU PEOPLE?"

Well....Here is what I think;
It's the "day" we live in. ...in goverment, business, everywhere; Pervs and stupidity, greed and immorality....and what idiots call entertainment... and being proud of all of that rampant stupidity... Education does NOT feature teaching right from wrong. Media focuses mostly on people who are ignorant - not people with POSITIVE values.

Just drive on a highway and note the people NOT paying attention to what they should be doing. Just note the number of pornographers and their slimeball customers. Just listen to what "entertainment" has turned into these days; current pop music, watch cable tv - and even broadcast tv;

It's culture at its very worst. You can fall victim to scum like Dave, masquerading as "comedy" - or take the better road.

 

[benwolf]

Certain people are getting overwrought over this. Hello...there wasn't even infidelity here...he was a SINGLE MAN dating single women...I'm kind of missing the reason for this "outrage." And I can't say I look at women willing to sleep with the boss to further themselves as victims.
This was a case of blackmail, and Dave did the right thing. And his show is still as good as ever, IMO.

 

[cspotrun]

Certain people are getting overwrought over this. Hello...there wasn't even infidelity here...he was a SINGLE MAN dating single women...I'm kind of missing the reason for this "outrage." And I can't say I look at women willing to sleep with the boss to further themselves as victims.
This was a case of blackmail, and Dave did the right thing. And his show is still as good as ever, IMO.

don't forget he was a single man sleeping with his EMPLOYEES, and the fact that he MIGHT have been single is not going to lessen the pain felt by his NOW wife, who he was at least dating at the time, and probably told her "She was the ONLY one".... there is nothing good about this.

 

[cspotrun]

Cspot said, "what's wrong with YOU PEOPLE?"

Well....Here is what I think;
It's the "day" we live in. ...in goverment, business, everywhere; Pervs and stupidity, greed and immorality....and what idiots call entertainment... and being proud of all of that rampant stupidity... Education does NOT feature teaching right from wrong. Media focuses mostly on people who are ignorant - not people with POSITIVE values.

Just drive on a highway and note the people NOT paying attention to what they should be doing. Just note the number of pornographers and their slimeball customers. Just listen to what "entertainment" has turned into these days; current pop music, watch cable tv - and even broadcast tv;

It's culture at its very worst. You can fall victim to scum like Dave, masquerading as "comedy" - or take the better road.

you are correct and not too long ago this would be THE END of someone's career on Television. as you can see Letterman's actions are almost celebrated by the media and by people on this board who are putting a 'Happy Face' on it. can anyone live happily in a world like this?

 

[LKellerIII]

Cspot said, "what's wrong with YOU PEOPLE?"

Well....Here is what I think;
It's the "day" we live in. ...in goverment, business, everywhere; Pervs and stupidity, greed and immorality....and what idiots call entertainment... and being proud of all of that rampant stupidity... Education does NOT feature teaching right from wrong. Media focuses mostly on people who are ignorant - not people with POSITIVE values.

Just drive on a highway and note the people NOT paying attention to what they should be doing. Just note the number of pornographers and their slimeball customers. Just listen to what "entertainment" has turned into these days; current pop music, watch cable tv - and even broadcast tv;

It's culture at its very worst. You can fall victim to scum like Dave, masquerading as "comedy" - or take the better road.

you are correct and not too long ago this would be THE END of someone's career on Television. as you can see Letterman's actions are almost celebrated by the media and by people on this board who are putting a 'Happy Face' on it. can anyone live happily in a world like this?

How did this story get turned into a screed on "the world we live in?" There sure is a lot of moral self-righteousness in this thread. I'm no particular fan of Letterman...I got tired of his act about a decade ago, and clearly he has done wrong by his wife...whether or not they were married at the time of his indescretions, they were in a relationship at the time. But I try to remember that I've done things in my past that I'm not proud of, so I hesitate to judge others too harshly for their moral failings. Maybe a few of you have led perfectly moral lives, but I suspect you're in the minority.

The constant coverage of this story is the fault of the "24 hour news cycle" we keep hearing about. There's too much air-time to fill, so every story is repeated ad nauseum and then they bring in pundits to talk about it. When I can't take it anymore, I change the channel, or tune in NPR, BBC News, or watch the News Hour on PBS. There are other news sources, you know.

 

[Prais]

lkeller asked, "How did this story get turned into a screed on "the world we live in?"

Here's how, sir.....
8 pages of posts, some, like Benwolf, (who said, "Dave did the right thing").....not even knowing what was wrong with what happened!

It's really sad. I hope Dave's wife gets the biggest shyster she can find and steamrolls Dave.

Nope, little self-righteousness, only trying to do what is RIGHT.

Maybe if Dave violated a female that you amoral guys were fond of, he would think differently. Only saying, no offense meant.

Just noticing that some animals have better morals than the named cbs tv host.

 

[imhomerjay]

And keeping some perspective, if an adult woman I was close to/fond of (or whatever phrase you want to use) slept with their boss, of their own free will--and we have yet to see evidence it was quid pro quo sexual harrasment--then I'd say it was as much 'her' choice as his. Just saying, no offense meant.

We're not talking Roman Polanski here, raping a 13 year old. Nor are we talking about a politician actually working to enact/support laws that codify their version of morality while getting a little something-something on the side.

 

[firepoint525]

Letterman is 62 now, and he is about as boring as Carson was in his 60s (back in the late '80s and early '90s). Carson was 67 when he finally retired, and Dave should consider retirement soon, too.

 

[LKellerIII]

lkeller asked, "How did this story get turned into a screed on "the world we live in?"

Here's how, sir.....
8 pages of posts, some, like Benwolf, (who said, "Dave did the right thing").....not even knowing what was wrong with what happened!

It's really sad. I hope Dave's wife gets the biggest shyster she can find and steamrolls Dave.

Nope, little self-righteousness, only trying to do what is RIGHT.

Maybe if Dave violated a female that you amoral guys were fond of, he would think differently. Only saying, no offense meant.

Just noticing that some animals have better morals than the named cbs tv host.

Uh...let me correct my statement to extremely morally self righteous.

I love it when somebody throws out an accusation against other people ("amoral"), then tries to soften it with a "no offense meant...just sayin' " Excuse me, but I don't consider myself amoral, nor is Letterman necessarily an amoral person because he committed what is arguably an immoral act.

Why would you say he deserves to be "steamrolled" by a "shyster" hired by his wife? Maybe she loves him, and they have an otherwise excellent relationship, and they decide to stay together and work on it despite his failings. They do have a child. But that would no doubt make you angry because it would upset your sense of moral outrage and need for revenge.

Lastly - based on what we know now, Letterman did not "violate" a woman - he had a consensual relationship with one or more adult women. Sex with a co-worker is clearly wrong under some circumstances, but it is not illegal. I work in a large company, and its not unusual for two co-workers to meet each other on the job, then discover an attraction and have a consensual relationship...sometimes even fall in love and get married. Sometimes its coworkers in the same job category (equals, in other words) but other times its between a boss and a subordinate employee. Is it wrong? Sometimes, but certainly not always.

Have I ever done that? No. But I try not to judge others too harshly.

 

[Silkie]

>>We're not talking Roman Polanski here, raping a 13 year old. Nor are we talking about a politician actually working to enact/support laws that codify their version of morality while getting a little something-something on the side. <<

Correct. We are talking about how to get a gig on a certain network and how someone used it for blackmail. What we have yet to see is how many in the little club were going to be in on the take, what the balances look like, etc.

 

[1069_KIFR]

Lets look at how TV shows want co-workers to hook up.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, people always wanted Lou Grant and MTM to hook up, it was even a possibility on their final show. But they nixed it because of the Lou Grant spin-off.
M*A*S*H, The doctors and Nurses, too many to describe here.
The Office, the wedding was last night.
Cheers, Sam (boss) Diane (employee)
I could go on and on. But these types of relationships are embedded in our society. This is real life imitating fiction.

 

[Skynet74]

Dave banged a few chicks on the side. Life goes on. This story is already old until something new happens.