Letterman admitted to having affairs with female staffers during his show last night—an admission he made after someone threatened to blackmail him for it. It’s weird that Letterman would first make this statement/confession/admission on the show. He put his audience in the awkward position of reacting to this as a comedy bit—which they do, until they realize, gradually, that Letterman isn’t joking.

If I ever get a TV show I am not sleeping any female staffers. Ever. Just to be on the safe side I’m only going to have male staffers.

UPDATE: Via Towleroad… the staffer that Letterman had sex with—apparently before he married his long-time girlfriend—is Stephanie Birkitt, a ten-year veteran of the show. She is/was also the girlfriend of Robert Halderman, a producer at the CBS news program 48 Hours and the man who was arrested for attempting to blackmail Letterman.

38 replies on “David Letterman’s Big Confession”

  3. Mika B. on MSNBC was horrified and shocked that the guys on the show weren’t horrified and chocked at Letterman’s conduct. Mika semeed to think anytime a “powerful man” leeps with females emloyees it’s abusive and morally wrong. She said it had to be investigated. In the absence of any claim of harassment, quid pro quo sex or hostile workplace, though, what’s wrong with people on the job getting it on?

    Why assume women are victims? They may be, but why presume it?

  4. New flash: Rich and powerful men (and women) can get whatever they want, and that includes sex with people they otherwise wouldn’t have a chance with.

    Unfortunately, I’m guessing Birkitt will now end up having to leave the show, which is too bad.

  5. News flash: women generally like rich, powerful and funny men. “Must have sense of humor”!

  7. BTW, Dan, any word on the pilot/test/screening episode that you did for HBO? There’s a number of us who are wishing you well and hope you hear something soon.

  8. huh. Letterman may have been sleazy, but he did say that he would let the women decide if they would come forward and announce their identity. a nice (if insufficient) nod to decency.

    but there go the bloggers, spewing the women’s names all over the place. tabloid instincts, guys?

  9. I don’t understand what the fuss is all about. Unmarried guy sleeps with unmarried woman – that’s news? OK, so he was her boss, but I haven’t seen any indication that he coerced her. And let’s face it, folks, it happens all the time.

  10. Why do people care about sex between two consenting adults? The only people besides Letterman’s GF and the “other woman’s” BF who may have a right to be pissed off are those who may have thought they were being passed over for a promotion b/c of the relationship.

  11. Who. The. Fuck. Cares.

    He’s not the Pope. Not the President. Not someone with even an inkling of moral authority. He’s a comedian and talk-show host. I couldn’t care less where he puts his dick.

  12. What makes this even sadder (for the extortionist, or anyone wishing Letterman ill) is that his liberalism meant that any viewers he’d likely have lost because of this already don’t watch him.

    I think Letterman went public because there was going to be rumors that he’d done this while married, and going on the show was the best way to address his audience before they got disinformation first.

    That said, I hope it goes away quickly.

  14. I like that he confronted it, admitted it and got it out of the way. Not that it’s going to die right away, but it will fade a lot faster than if he tried the Edwards-Sanford-Craig tactics of deny, deny, deny.

  16. I agree. I thought Dave handled this well by just being upfront about it. Really, I can’t imagine why anyone should care, but in case they do, he’s not hiding it.

    He did say “women” though which makes me think this is going to be tabloid fodder for awhile with tell-all accounts. I love Dave, but I really don’t want to read about his real or imagined bedroom antics. Ewww.

  17. So one of the five teabaggers that protested outside of his show a while ago may have been right. “David Letterman will rape you with his mouth!” I can still hear her shrieking that over and over again.

  18. take notes, spineless democratic legislators. go right at those attacking you on the biggest stage you have, and point out that the motherfuckers fuck their mothers.

  19. Dave handled this thing beautifully turning what might have been an ugly, ugly thing into one of his funny little late night testimonials. He came out smelling like a rose (which he is – a late night comic American Beauty).

    Kisses and best wishes, Dave.

  20. Anyone else thinking “Larry Sanders”? I just rewatched the episode where he was kissing Darlene in the elevator, and of course he slept with Beverley earlier on. God, that show is a million times funnier than anything Letterman ever did.

  21. People “care” about this only in the context that:

    A of all) It’s celebrity gossip, something far too many individuals in this country seem to be addicted to;

    B of all) The only thing celebrity-obsessed Americans love more than ensconcing the media aristocracy on a pedestal is pulling them down off it, and;

    C of all) Admissions like Letterman’s have the effect of promoting a sense of moral superiority in the listener, in the sense that any moral transgressions committed by the media/political/business elite makes them feel their own transgressions pale in comparison: “X may be richer, prettier, more talented, and more famous than me, but at least I didn’t sleep with Y” (which of course doesn’t address the secret desire they may have TO “sleep with Y”, a fantasy they know will never be fulfilled. So, it’s not uncommon for their sublimated desire to be expressed as moral disapproval for someone doing something they themselves secretly WANT to do, but will never be ABLE to do.)

  22. I remember thinking this was going on a long time ago… She had that look in her eye. Too bad for her, will have a much bigger impact in her life than his.

  23. I am sure Letterman had affairs with lots of women he wouldn’t normally get if not for the fact that he is rich and powerful (and don’t forget humorous). Isn’t that the point? Many celebrities expressed crushes on him. Whenever Julia Roberts was on she looked wetter than November on the chair next to him.

    Letterman and his then girlfriend now wife probably had an open/on and off relationship. Not too uncommon as Dan knows.

  24. “…Letterman isn’t joking”? Where do you get that? He’s joking all the way through, and ’tis beautifully done. It is awkward once or twice, like when the audience applauds when he says he has had sex with women on the show. But on the whole, I can’t think of a better way to handle this.

  30. I’m not 100% on the nomenclature, but doesn’t this use of “affair” generally imply one of the parties is married? Sounds like these two messed around, but outside the parties involved, who cares?

    I miss the new-to-CBS, new to boatloads of cash, entirely unapologetic Letterman.

  32. Well, I’ve certainly learned something from all these celebrities/politicians and their affairs. You’ll come out relatively unscathed if you’re up front about what you’ve done and if you don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.

    Spitzer, the Appalachian trail guy, and all the rest really suffered (as they should have) because of their hypocrisy and lying. Dave’s gonna be just fine. This will blow over in a few weeks.

  35. People meet their significant others at church, work, school, amid friends of family and amid friends of friends.

    Only since the (somewhat legitimate) sexual harassment craze starting the late ’80s has it been considered inappropriate for co-workers to not date.

    It started as specifically co-workers in power relationships, but in the late ’90s, peers had to be careful. Nowadays, it’s risky to say hi to the cute temp at the other end of the office cafeteria that works in a completely different department.

    But as Fifty-Two-Eighty observes, it still happens all the time.

  36. Oh my god, it’s awkward when you hear bad news and you think it’s a joke. This is like when I accidentally laughed at that Q13 anchorman for having cancer because it was talked about jovially and I didn’t know him from Adam.

  38. MediaCurves.com conducted a study on 505 viewers of David Letterman’s sex scandal confession. Results found that that the majority reported that their perceptions of Letterman have not changed after viewing the confession. Less than one-quarter (22%) reported that they have a more negative perception of Letterman, and a similar number (23%) reported that they have a more positive perception of him. In addition, 73% claimed that this incident has not changed their likelihood of watching Letterman’s ‘Late Show.’ More in depth results can be seen at:
    http://www.mediacurves.com/Entertainment…
    Thanks,
    Ben

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