Bad Dave, Bad Blackmail Plot
When I heard the details today about the David Letterman/sex/extortion story, I had three immediate reactions, in this order:
1) That was one sorry blackmail plot.
2) Employers shouldn’t sleep with their subordinates.
3) That was one sorry blackmail plot.
As I understand blackmail (and I should add I’ve never tried to blackmail anyone, except, of course, emotionally), the “mark” has to feel he has more to lose by having the sensitive information revealed than what he’s being asked to pay out. This type of blackmail related to sex, as in the Letterman case, might be effective if it was against, say, a prominent minister, or a politician who presents himself as morally superior and judgmental (see “Ensign, Sen. John”.. in fact, see it right here). It doesn’t work if the blackmail subject is an entertainer—even an extremely prominent one—whose position and livelihood is not based on some sort of moral authority. Is he a hypocrite because this is the kind of thing he makes fun of when it happens to other people? I suppose. But that’s not worth $2-million, as Dave obviously decided.
As to reaction number two: It’s not cool for the boss to have sex with staff members, especially extremely young ones (Geez, Dave, even in the TV news business you learn to lay off the interns long before you reach middle age—and you’re past that). Remember, these weren’t fellow CBS staffers we’re talking about. Letterman is the head of his own production company which makes “Late Night” and other shows. These young women were his employees. There may or may not be sexual harassment issues here, but it’s one of those situations that rarely ends well, without some kind of hurt coming to someone.
That brings us to reaction number three, which you’ll note is the same as number one, because it was REALLY a sorry blackmail plot. Not only was Letterman unlikely to pay the amount police say the suspect, CBS producer Joe Halderman, was asking… Dave’s also a gifted enough performer that he’s able to go on national television to confess, play it for a few laughs at the same time, and come out with his popularity intact, if not enhanced. Take a quick scan here.
“…Bill Barol says at True/slant that Mr. Letterman has ‘a big reservoir of public goodwill, and a platform from which to get out ahead of the story.’
‘Tonight he was shrewd enough to use them,’ Mr. Barol writes, ‘and human enough to make it feel like something other than a gimmick.’”
Wow, a rave for the way he told people he’d had sex with much younger employees and somebody tried to blackmail him for it. Letterman’s clearly smart enough and deft enough to turn such an unseemly situation to his advantage, with minimal embarrassment. If only he’d been smart and deft enough not to have put himself in the situation in the first place.
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Comments: 9
Who the F*** is letterman that you put him ahead of the funeral of the young lady who was killed by a cop driving drunk, of the idiots in chicago who won't snitch but will watch a young man killed senseless and stand and do nothing? I've watched your news for over 20 years and I can't believe this!!!
Now there is an update that another intern claimed to have a relationship with him also. I feel like Letterman now is being ACORNed, only one is by hidden cam, one is by blackmail.
One thing interesting is, Letterman presented himself as a victim. Yes, legally he is a victim of a blackmail, but it is his family that is the main victim. Like you said, he has no one to blame but himself, this mess won't happen if he didn't do anything stupid in the first place.
Well, now a day, even a lady said the F word on SNL is ok, and NBC doesn't really care, then what do you expect out of these kind of rotten entertainment network?
You know, like the case of Polanski, those idiots in Europe actually protest about the arrest. What, so they think that when a person got famous, and waited long enough, he can get away from a crime he committed? Well, hollywood people are largely living in hollyworld, not the real world, which have sex with a minor is somehow ok.
I have mixed feelings about this whole sordid affair.
On the one hand, it's hard for ugly guys to get laid; if Dave used his position to get a little action, then all power to him!
But, on the other foot, his behavior has really hurt the show -- no wonder why he's quit doing bits like CBS Mail Bag, Know Your Current Events, Know Your Cuts of Meat, etc.: he's been too busy gettin' it on. Now all he does is drag out one boring story after another, just talk, talk, talk, never getting to a point...
But enough about that -- I gotta go polish my baldy head.
David Letterman has aleinated most women with his sexual activites and he ought to be ashamed of himself.
I'm a little harder on him Jim. Many are trotting out the line "what consenting adults do in private is none of anyone's business" but that usually applies to the regular stuff, rather the real issue is a boss having sex with his subordinates. Now if it were only one you could make the case that who is anyone to tell anyone else whom they can or can't fall in love with but since we're talking in the plural here you can't even make a romantic argument in the guy's favor. I DO think there is some element of a hostile work environment here as think of the women who work for his production company but who didn't want to sleep with him (if there are any) and the morale to say the least can't be good. I agree with Andrea Peyser of the New York Post who wrote the other day that when Dave's contract expires simply don't renew it and let the guy go already. I've never thought of myself as a puritanical person but in discussions with guys we've usually come to the conclusion there should be certain rules. Let's just say Dave crossed them a long time ago and his self-deprecating humor shows he just doesn't get it. It's not addressing the issue head on, it's called having no shame.
How can one take Letterman's contrition seriously when he incorporates it into his humorous monologue?
Because Ray he has no contrition, he's one of these people who're proud of their bad behavior, he's hip ya know. Other comics are kinda treating it all very lightly, poking fun at the sit'chation but it'd be nice if a Jay Leno took him down. At least in other scandals Mel Gibson or Michael Richards or whoever pretended to have some contrition, this guy just plays it for yuks. It's not deft in my book, just shows he has no class.
ITS A moot point, I'm sure many hosts late nigh or during te day had their flings. it happens, its unethical but what are we to do about it? life goes on he is the one who will have to live with the dissappointment and shame
That's true but what got me was it wasn't your standard affairs but screwing the staff, it kind of put it on another level where I found myself starting to agree with feminist theory on this stuff and I very seldom agree with them on anything.