In October 2009, Late Show host David Letterman publicly acknowledged that he had sexual relationships with women who worked for him after an alleged extortion attempt threatened to expose those relationships. Letterman told his studio audience that he had received a package from someone claiming to have proof of damaging personal information and demanding $2 million. Rather than pay the demand, Letterman contacted his attorney and cooperated with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in a sting operation that led to the arrest of CBS News producer Robert “Joe” Halderman. The scandal quickly moved beyond the criminal extortion case because Letterman’s admitted relationships involved workplace subordinates and raised questions about power, professional boundaries, and the environment at his production company, Worldwide Pants. Letterman first framed himself as the victim of a crime, but after the disclosure brought intense attention to his staff and family, he returned to the air to apologize to his wife, Regina Lasko, and to employees who had been pulled into the public controversy. Halderman later pleaded guilty and received a six-month jail sentence, probation, and community service.
Last week on the show, I told a little story about being blackmailed. And I wasn’t going to talk about it anymore, but it seems like people want to talk about it. And when you’re blackmailed, it’s a crime and you’re a victim. It’s felony extortion is what it is. And it’s a nasty thing to do to people. Now, being a victim, and if you happen to your behavior is responsible for hurting people, that’s a separate part of the equation. And it did not occur to me last week when I was discussing having had sex with women who worked on this show that then what would happen is reporters and newspaper people and radio and TV would start pounding the staff and saying, ˜Well, what do you say? Are you, and this and that?’ It was very, very unpleasant, and I would just like to set the record straight. No, I’m not having sex with these women. Those episodes are in the past, so my apologies to subjecting them to that vulnerability and being brow-beaten and humiliated. It never occurred to me. [Side conversation with counterpart.] I’ll just say I’m terribly sorry I put the staff in that position inadvertently. I just wasn’t thinking ahead. And moreover, the staff here has been wonderfully supportive to me, not just through this furor, but through all the years that we’ve been on television and especially all the years here at CBS, so again, my thanks to the staff for, once again, putting up with something stupid I’ve gotten myself involved in. Now the other thing is my wife Regina. She has been horribly hurt by my behavior. And when something happens like that, if you hurt a person and it’s your responsibility, you try to fix it. And at that point, there’s only two things that can happen: either you’re going to make some progress and get it fixed or you’re going to fall short and perhaps not get it fixed. So let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me. But through all of this, you have to say to yourself, What really happened? And what really happened was you can’t be victimized by criminals, so you have to go ahead and push back if you’re being pushed by something illegal like this. And through all of the heartache and the attention and the embarrassment, I still feel like I did the right thing. And now, also, because what can it hurt, once again, I’d like to apologize to the former governor of Alaska. Sarah Palin, I’m terribly, terribly sorry. So there we go.
Sources
ABC News. (2009, October 6). David Letterman’s on-air apologies go on.https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/david-letterman-continue-air-apologies/story?id=8758368
CBS News. (2009, October 5). Letterman apologizes to wife. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/letterman-apologizes-to-wife/
Gold, M. (2009, October 6). David Letterman apologizes to staff. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-oct-06-et-cbs-letterman6-story.html
Goldman, R. (2010, May 5). David Letterman blackmailer begins prison sentence. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Law/david-letterman-blackmailer-robert-halderman-sentenced/story?id=10552760
James, M. S., & Goldwert, L. (2009, October 1). David Letterman reveals extortion plot and confesses to sex with staffers. ABC News. https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/david-letterman-admits-sexual-affairs-staffers-details-extortion/story?id=8728424
Scovell, N. (2019, October 30). Ten years ago, I called out David Letterman. This month, we sat down to talk. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/10/david-letterman-conversation-with-nell-scovell
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