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David Letterman's Vicinity Now "Harm's Way," Says College
Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
David Letterman: I Had Sex with Staffers, Was Extorted
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Danny DeVito Addresses His Proclivity for Public Drunkenness

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gladys_kravitz
10/13/09

In reply to David Letterman's Vicinity Now "Harm's Way," Says College
How many interns has Quinnipiac sent to the Ed Sullivan theater over the years that this is actually a serious concern for them?
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BadUncle
10/13/09

@gladys_kravitz: Well, with press releases like this, you can be sure there won't be any more.
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skt.smth
10/13/09

In reply to David Letterman's Vicinity Now "Harm's Way," Says College
Yes, I'm sure Letterman is going to be missing all of those potential interns from Quinnipiac (AKA "Backup of the Backup of the Backup of the Backup" or "Where you go if you somehow manage to get turned down from Clark") University.
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WackoJacko
10/13/09

In reply to David Letterman's Vicinity Now "Harm's Way," Says College
Okay I get it. What Letterman did wasn't as big a deal as if he were a Congressmen or Senator or whatever. I get it. Fucking around in the work place isn't a big deal. Fine. But the continuing laissez faire tone of the discussion here is really pissing me off. It's not like Letterman was completely in the right. If a university's internship coordinator is looking into the environment its interns are going into, I applaud them for doing their job. Not every girl wanting to work in late night television is necessarily going to feel comfortable working in an office where the boss is fucking everyone around her or that the boss wants to fuck her. And I don't say any of that to cast Letterman as the big bad wolf and the women involved as helpless lambs because I'm sure all the relationships were consensual and above board but ultimately, while everyone is totally free to fuck whomever they want at work without fear of puritanical judgment, it's also totally reasonable to feel kind of appalled by that on a professional level.
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WackoJacko
10/13/09

@WackoJacko: Dear commenter whose comment I will not promote, I repeat: while everyone is totally free to fuck whomever they want at work without fear of puritanical judgment, it's also totally reasonable to feel kind of appalled by that on a professional level.
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scroll_lock
10/13/09

@WackoJacko: Spot on, dude.
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bytememehard
10/13/09

@WackoJacko: How do you really feel?
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Pope John Peeps II
10/13/09

In reply to David Letterman's Vicinity Now "Harm's Way," Says College
Haha. Dear parents everywhere, remember:

Your kids will always end up fucking someone!
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britneyspearstears
10/13/09

@Pope John Peeps II: ...and vice-versa.
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Trixie from Toronto
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
My God, commenting is FUCKED today.

In any event, I have no idea what thread this comment is going to end up in, but:

10:00 AM

This would only serve to make Halderman look semi-sympathetic and turn this into a crime of passion. It would be his side that leaked it, not Letterman's.
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Trixie from Toronto
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
This would only serve to make Halderman look semi-sympathetic and turn this into a crime of passion. It would be his side that leaked it, not Letterman's.
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BxgrlJeri
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
Over the weekend, I passed this gigantic pro-life protest of the crazies whose signs were all about abortion killing children and Jesus was crying and how our government is sending us all straight to hell and all this other hokey crap. In the middle of these nonsensical signs was one lone guy whose sign said, "And Letterman too."

He needed to be relevant, obviously.
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Seanibus
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
You know, Letterman has always traded on his image as a cranky old man. He never pretended to be a nice guy - right from the start, his act was that he was a guy who seemed nice, but actually said some mean (if insightful) things. That's why he was funny, and why he has seemed a little stale as he really did age into a cranky old man. I am not sure that all this stuff should seem that out of character or surprising.
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Trixie from Toronto
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
His apology was really to women everywhere about the Palin joke?

What if you're a woman who didn't find the joke offensive?
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chiken
10/06/09

@Trixie from Toronto: You didn't find a joke about her pre-teen daughter being impregnated by Alex Rodriguez offensive? What DO you find offensive? I agree that it wasn't that big of a deal and he almost certainly didn't say what he meant, but come on. The joke was in poor taste.
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Trixie from Toronto
10/06/09

@chiken: He was talking about Bristol, the world's most famous pregnant teen, and Rodriguez is a notorious hound.

The same crazies at the tea party rallies and showing up at the town halls shouting "I don't recognize my country!" made every effort to trump that "scandal" up. Palin herself started calling him a "sexual pervert" which was just completely beyond the pale, but not surprising coming from that loon.

So no, I didn't find it offensive. What I found offensive was how many times he apologized for it when Sarah Palin whored those kids out for months. And I also find it offensive that anyone would presume to know that his apology wasn't really to his wife, but all of us apparently scandalized women.
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Bunsy
10/06/09

@chiken: It was funny. Never apologize for humor: that's the point.

Palin, her famously pregnant teen daughter, A-Rod, all public figures and puttin themselves out there.
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Trixie from Toronto
10/06/09

@Bunsy: No shit. Somehow it got contorted into "he made a joke about the rape of Sarah Palin's 14-year-old daughter," thanks to Palin herself and her nutbar followers. I was pissed off he kept apologizing for it. She was seizing upon a moment to shine even more attention upon herself and to demonize the "liberal" entertainment business at the same time.

I couldn't believe she was that successful.
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unclevanya
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
Remember the old days, when Carson would get divorced and remarried every other year, and everyone just joked and laughed about it? Letterman is probably thinking about his old poker buddy, and those bygone Rat Pack days now.
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Seeräuber Jenny
10/06/09

@unclevanya:

"Oh great Carnac..."
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Swordfish
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
You know, he didn't get married until six months ago, though he had been with Regina for years. Obviously this is why...

Also, I have a vague memory of a boatload of blind items about a popular network chat show host horsing around with girl staffers, and everyone was sure it was Matt Lauer. No one, but no one said Letterman.
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Trixie from Toronto
10/06/09

@Swordfish: I am pretty sure it's Lauer too. And believe it or not there were a lot of rumors about Regis -- REGIS!! -- over the years, when he was younger and pre-cholesterol/heart issues.
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Amrita Rajan
10/06/09

@Swordfish: Do you really think Letterman is the only guy on TV "horsing around with girl staffers"? To say nothing of the boy staffers.
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seyswho
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
This situation simply adds to my belief that no matter what is going on in the world, and I mean no matter what, celebrity stuff will be what the media dwells on. We are dealing with sooooo many important and potentially disastrous issues in this country (and in the world) right now. Why does half the media coverage need to be about the 2016 Olympics or where Letterman's penis was years ago? I swear, Iran could invade Canada tomorrow and between "Breaking News" updates, we would be treated to 10 minute interludes where the lastest Gosselin bullshit was rehashed for the millionth time.

Focus, America. Focus.
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heywhat
10/06/09

@seyswho: Do you ever watch Real Time with Bill Maher? I don't agree with everything he says but one thing I do agree with him about is that we are not a serious society. We panic and obsess over the silliest things. All it takes for us to become distracted is a sex scandal. Grow up America.
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Adah
10/06/09

@seyswho: It's a gossip blog. Plenty of sites are devoted to more serious matters. If you're looking for foreign policy try [ricks.foreignpolicy.com] for AFPAK blogging or the main site [www.foreignpolicy.com] for other countries.
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Gawkchalk
10/06/09

@seyswho: Iran is invading Canada?
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Magister
10/06/09

@Gawkchalk: Ahmadinejad wants the bacon and he has a thing for Canuck girls.
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unclevanya
10/06/09

@Magister: His Jewish grandmother would be sad.
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seyswho
10/06/09

@heywhat: I love Maher, watch him every week. And yeah, my comment was kind of based on his philosophy (we share one, in case that wasn't obvious).

@Adah: Did you not notice my star? I was making a point, not downing Gawker. Trust me, I follow all news, not just the stupid stuff.
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skahammer
10/06/09

@seyswho: It was ever thus. I'm sure when the Mongols sacked Rome, the town crier's top story was something like "The Emperor's Daughter and the Centurion: Did She or Didn't She?"
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seyswho
10/06/09

Oh, she did. HARD.
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Gawkchalk
10/06/09

@seyswho: Star Snob.
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Carol Gardens
10/06/09

@heywhat: That's funny. Maher is the biggest horndog of all. It isn't even possible for him to have a sex scandal. Unless it was with a man, of course.
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Seeräuber Jenny
10/06/09

@heywhat:

I have extremely mixed feelings about Maher, too, but he's right when he calls this a stupid country.

I caught the end of a faux-anxious, sympathetic report on The Today Show at the end of which the newsreader lamented, "This story isn't going away anytime soon."

And why is that? I'm perfectly willing to wait for a trial or a plea.
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Seeräuber Jenny
10/06/09

@Adah:

I think the criticism was directed more at the news media than at Gawker.
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TheSometimesWhy
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
What is sad is that this entire matter is being viewed in this hopelessly simplistic light: either Letterman is an unqualified sleaze or he is a media-weasel for preemptively dealing with this issue before it was launched by the celebrity-obsessed juggernaut that is the modern media.

Just for the sake of argument, entertain this notion: Letterman is and always has been a performer, an entertainer. His reason for being is to entertain; that he enjoys aspects of life that mere mortals share with a great deal more regularity than he does only makes it more difficult to understand his way. Sure, he's a guy. And a very powerful one, at that. So, he has a few interludes with women who work for him. Guess what? On balance, if you knew how many women whose company he could have enjoyed and didn't for whatever reason, you might be a little more impressed with him.

Now, along comes this fellow Halderman, making demands out of some bad made-for-TV movie, and Letterman reacts responsibly. He goes to the authorities, knowing full well that when he does so, it's only a matter of time till the genie is officially let out of the bottle. And because, above all, Letterman is no one's fool, he preemptively uses the platform he created with his own blood, sweat, and mirth, to address the looming controversy. He admits wrongdoing, cops to falling prey to the oldest unforced error in the game of life, and for that he is pilloried as you see here in this thread.

It seems that people have lost the ability to recognize an honorable (if not fallible) man's response to an unfortunate (if self-inflicted) wound. How can you take issue with him for using the resources at his disposal to avert what would have been an unqualified disaster had he allowed it to play out in the media/blogosphere/social-mediasphere of your choice?

I have had the pleasure of meeting Letterman, and as a fellow Hoosier, I can say he isn't perfect. Far from it. The man is definitely terminally anhedonic, but if you think that embarking on the journey he set sail on last Thursday night was one he would have chosen to do had he other viable options, you are sorely mistaken. He did what had to be done, and in this day and age, that is rare.
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WackoJacko
10/06/09

@TheSometimesWhy: Why can't we just tear him to shreds a little bit? Like you said, he's an entertainer--a comedian, so he should be able to take some roasting whether good natured or not. Clearly, he's not going to be fired, he's not out of 2 million dollars; maybe he'll lose his wife but that, of all of this, would be his own doing and not the mean, nasty simpletons who recognize his media-weaselry for what it is. I just don't get the need to rally around him and view any of this with sobriety, fairness, or maturity. This is the age we live in. He's a celebrity in a sex scandal--attack, it's fun! And in 5 minutes it will be over and he will probably get a raise from CBS and higher ratings--see? Everybody wins!
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lionel-mandrake
10/06/09

@TheSometimesWhy: I'd be pretty sure he went straight to the authorities because he had a stalker for years (who eventually killed herself), as well as that bizarre kidnapping plot against his kid. The man has a way of attracting the crazy.

Also, apropos of nothing, Letterman is a really crappy guy to work for. Sour, vindictive, capricious, just an all-around pain-in-the-ass. That he played favorites in exchange for sex is not a surprise.
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Trixie from Toronto
10/06/09

@TheSometimesWhy: Bravo. You have just summed up everything I have been trying to articulate to people but have failed to with as much eloquence as you just did.
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Trixie from Toronto
10/06/09

@lionel-mandrake: The same Letterman who opened his own wallet to pay his staff during the writer's strike?
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TheSometimesWhy
10/06/09

@WackoJacko: Look, you're a free agent--if tearing Letterman up makes you feel better, via con dios. But if you think that doing so makes you any better, you are sadly deluded. Once again, why not entertain the notion, if only for a nanosecond, of extending somebody just a little grace, and seeing what that engenders? We all decry the downward spiral this country and this culture have found themselves in. Don't you think that willingness to reflexively tear something down, coupled with an inability to find a moment's poise, contributes to the very thing at issue?

I don't see the harm in trying.
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chiken
10/06/09

@TheSometimesWhy: I am not impressed when a man has the ability to decline to sleep with every woman who would be willing. That's just not that high a hurdle.

Also, you seem to be glossing over the traded-workplace-favors-for-sex-with-employees aspect here. Very unsavory; very dishonorable.
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TheSometimesWhy
10/06/09

@lionel-mandrake: I think Letterman went to the authorities because for all he has achieved, he still bears a lot of "midwesternisms", i.e, a reflexive need to consult the authorities when something "goes wrong." His experience with the stalker, as well as that kidnapper would only reinforce that reflex, don't you think?

And as I mentioned in the last graph, the man is absolutely anhedonic--constitutionally incapable of experiencing joy. A story that illustrates my point: 20 years ago, I found myself at my first Hollywood event: a party for the Letterman crew at Chinois, Wolfgang Puck's place. Not knowing there was going to be food, I ate four PB & J sandwiches beforehand to get me through the night, only to discover when I got there that there was free, world-class Thai food to be enjoyed, but I could't eat a bite more. I was standing outside, smoking a cigarette, shaking my head at the folly of it all when Letterman came out for a cigar. He nods and asks how I'm doing. I toldl him my four sandwich story--his response? A very sardonic, "Yeah, that's life..."
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Edited by TheSometimesWhy at 10/06/09 9:13 AM TheSometimesWhy was starred TheSometimesWhy was unstarred

TheSometimesWhy
10/06/09

@Trixie from Toronto: Wow, cool! Nice to know those eloquence classes I took at the Learning Annex are paying off...

Thanks, Trixie. Now if I can just save up enough money for their seminar on meeting women from Toronto, we may have a future...
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lionel-mandrake
10/06/09

@Trixie from Toronto: I had forgotten about that. My experience with him was on the production side, where things are little different.
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lionel-mandrake
10/06/09

@TheSometimesWhy: I think that's absolutely why he went straight to the authorities. If I'd had as many brushes with crazies and criminals invading my personal life as he has, I'd also go directly from zero to "I don't know how dangerous this guy is, but let's lock him up just to be on the safe side."
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johnny_carsick
10/06/09

@TheSometimesWhy: well said, if rather un-gawkery. not like we couldn't use a bit more of that here, anyhow.

every now and then. sometimes.

also, "vaya" con dios. FYI.
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TheSometimesWhy
10/06/09

@chiken: I don't feel I was glossing over it as much as not acknowledging it as phrased by you. The one thing that takes Letterman's case out of the norm of the traded-workplace-favors-for-sex-with-the-employer paradigm is celebrity, plain and simple. I am not condoning that system, but if you lived in Los Angeles and literally saw the lunacy that people in celebrity's thrall are guilty of, having sex with them would almost seem like a quaint civil ritual...
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WackoJacko
10/06/09

@TheSometimesWhy: But what I'm basically saying here is that there's no need to extend him anything. He's a comedian who for the moment has become the punch line. It probably doesn't feel awesome for him to be that out of control of his image (however relative that may be given that he's already reflexively cracking self-deprecating jokes as to smooth over and mend the humiliation of it all) but who gives a shit--people will forget by next month some time and he will get more money and adoration and "forgiveness" and ego-boosting from us, the masses eventually. My or anybody else's extended grace is not going to amount to a hill of beans in the long run. I actually think it's healthy for us to lampoon and mock and judge him now. It ultimately builds character.
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Btwbfdimho
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
Meanwhile, CBS should replay that 1994' Madonna-Letterman interview for the next couple of weeks and then everything gonna be OK.

[www.youtube.com]
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lobstr
10/06/09

In reply to Letterman Apology: A Charming Lesson in Covering Your Bases
I'm intrigued to see the ratings numbers, I imagine he super-destroyed Conan & Kimmel...
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