How Letterman could lose

Coming clean won't matter if dirty details emerge

By Andrew Wallenstein

Oct 3, 2009, 01:45 PM ET

Related Letterman reveals extortion plot
Video: Letterman talks extortion plot
THR, Esq.: Legal ramifications of admission
No long-term impact on 'Late Show' seen At the close of David LettermanDavid Letterman's stunning on-air disclosure Thursday, the host seemed set to put the whole sordid affair behind him. After a 10-minute explanation of an extortion plot intended to expose his sexual liaisons with female staffers, he concluded, "I don't plan to say much more about this on this particular topic."

But if Letterman thinks he's had the last word, rest assured this controversy is far from over.

Sure, the immediate aftermath has gone well for him. Robert Joe Halderman has been indicted and so-called media experts are in consensus that the late-night host is going to be fine.

But Letterman may find the devil in the details, of which he divulged precious little in coming clean. What will truly determine just how ugly this will get for him is the yet-to-emerge particulars of his sexual exploits.

As judicious as he was in meting out what he wanted his audience to know, it's ultimately not in his control. TMZ and its ilk are raiding Letterman's skeleton-filled closet and leaving no bone untouched; the witch hunt to surface the unidentified women Letterman slept with has already yielded names like Stephanie Birkitt.

Were all of these relationships consensual affairs with women of appropriate ages who, if they choose to come forward, will not speak ill of the man? That more than anything will keep Letterman's reputation unsullied. But anything deviant or inappropriate is a potential career killer; even worse if any audio, photographic or video evidence makes its way into the media.

What CBS better hope is that Letterman's sexual adventures do not fall anywhere along the continuum of depravity set before the philandering TV personalities that came before him. Textbook dalliance like Frank GiffordFrank Gifford? No biggie. Charlie SheenCharlie Sheen level? Now you're pushing it. Marv Albert? Don't go there. Bob Crane? Well, maybe Letterman can get his old weatherman job back in Indiana.

The greatest unknown in all of this is Letterman's wife, Regina Lasko, who has lived her life largely offstage. But were she to go public by her husband's side -- a reverse reality version of the new CBS series "The Good Wife," if you will -- that could go a long way. On the flip side, a divorce announcement could be equally devastating.

With the emergence of more facts will come a renewed interest in more disclosure from Letterman. But what forum that would take is a whole other question. Will he continue to address the matter on his own show night after night? A Kobe BryantKobe Bryant-style press conference is another option, but that doesn't seem Letterman's style at all. There's always Barbara WaltersBarbara Walters or Larry KingLarry King, whose producers are probably already courting Letterman.

But if CBS' past history neutralizing celebrity scandal is any indication, look for the company to use one of its own properties. Think back to 2005 when Pat O'BrienPat O'Brien, former host of the CBS-owned syndicated newsmagazine "The Insider," took his own image-rehabilitation campaign to none other than Dr. Phil, who hosted a CBS primetime special in the wake of an alcohol-fueled series of racy phone messages.

That option is a bit too downmarket for Letterman. But what about CBS' own "60 Minutes?" A no-holds-barred interview on that venerable newsmagazine could be just the place for Letterman to clear the air while still retaining a patina of gravitas.

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How Letterman could lose Coming clean won't matter if dirty details emerge

By Andrew Wallenstein

Oct 3, 2009, 01:45 PM ET

Related Letterman reveals extortion plot
Video: Letterman talks extortion plot
THR, Esq.: Legal ramifications of admission
No long-term impact on 'Late Show' seen At the close of David Letterman's stunning on-air disclosure Thursday, the host seemed set to put the whole sordid affair behind him. After a 10-minute explanation of an extortion plot intended to expose his sexual liaisons with female staffers, he concluded, "I don't plan to say much more about this on this particular topic."

But if Letterman thinks he's had the last word, rest assured this controversy is far from over.

Sure, the immediate aftermath has gone well for him. Robert Joe Halderman has been indicted and so-called media experts are in consensus that the late-night host is going to be fine.

But Letterman may find the devil in the details, of which he divulged precious little in coming clean. What will truly determine just how ugly this will get for him is the yet-to-emerge particulars of his sexual exploits.

As judicious as he was in meting out what he wanted his audience to know, it's ultimately not in his control. TMZ and its ilk are raiding Letterman's skeleton-filled closet and leaving no bone untouched; the witch hunt to surface the unidentified women Letterman slept with has already yielded names like Stephanie Birkitt.

Were all of these relationships consensual affairs with women of appropriate ages who, if they choose to come forward, will not speak ill of the man? That more than anything will keep Letterman's reputation unsullied. But anything deviant or inappropriate is a potential career killer; even worse if any audio, photographic or video evidence makes its way into the media.

What CBS better hope is that Letterman's sexual adventures do not fall anywhere along the continuum of depravity set before the philandering TV personalities that came before him. Textbook dalliance like Frank Gifford? No biggie. Charlie Sheen level? Now you're pushing it. Marv Albert? Don't go there. Bob Crane? Well, maybe Letterman can get his old weatherman job back in Indiana.

The greatest unknown in all of this is Letterman's wife, Regina Lasko, who has lived her life largely offstage. But were she to go public by her husband's side -- a reverse reality version of the new CBS series "The Good Wife," if you will -- that could go a long way. On the flip side, a divorce announcement could be equally devastating.

With the emergence of more facts will come a renewed interest in more disclosure from Letterman. But what forum that would take is a whole other question. Will he continue to address the matter on his own show night after night? A Kobe Bryant-style press conference is another option, but that doesn't seem Letterman's style at all. There's always Barbara Walters or Larry King, whose producers are probably already courting Letterman.

But if CBS' past history neutralizing celebrity scandal is any indication, look for the company to use one of its own properties. Think back to 2005 when Pat O'Brien, former host of the CBS-owned syndicated newsmagazine "The Insider," took his own image-rehabilitation campaign to none other than Dr. Phil, who hosted a CBS primetime special in the wake of an alcohol-fueled series of racy phone messages.

That option is a bit too downmarket for Letterman. But what about CBS' own "60 Minutes?" A no-holds-barred interview on that venerable newsmagazine could be just the place for Letterman to clear the air while still retaining a patina of gravitas.



That said, his first steps to disentangle himself have been brilliant. Never in the annals of celebrity self-abasement has a star so masterfully manipulated the context of the disclosure. Letterman's humor-infused speech turned his studio audience into unwitting shills, their every round of applause reinforcing a sense of support. By the time he actually got to the juicy stuff that prompted the extortion, few in attendance probably even realized the gravity of what they were witnessing.

Emphasizing the blackmail effort allowed him to deflect attention, casting himself as the victim and Halderman as the villain. Had Letterman's interoffice sexual history simply been revealed by the National Enquirer, this would have played out quite differently, leaving him on the defensive.

Getting out ahead of the story rather than fessing up after the fact was just the right move to endear himself to a public weary of a seemingly endless parade of politicians -- Mark SanfordMark Sanford, John EdwardsJohn Edwards, Eliot SpitzerEliot Spitzer -- who are forced to be cornered before spilling their guts, a welcome antidote to Clinton-style evasion.

It may seem a bit apples-and-oranges to compare Letterman with politicians, who are vulnerable because there is a moral high ground inherent in their position as government officials, particularly if they are conservatives who have espoused family values. Letterman is just an entertainer, right?

But it's not that simple. One can be a moral force without being an avowed moralist per se, and comedians fit that bill because their jokes about public figures are a means of casting judgment from a high ground of their own. If Letterman goes after others who have sinned when we know the same of him, his humor will smack of hypocrisy. The only person who may be sweating right now more than Letterman himself are his writers, who are going to now have to craft punchlines that tiptoe around the fault lines of the host's new persona.

As with another showbiz legend, Roman PolanskiRoman Polanski, there's a tremendous amount of goodwill toward Letterman in Hollywood, which may mean his celebrity friends are already lining up to vocalize their support. And yet don't be surprised if other stars actually break rank and commit the heresy of openly criticizing Letterman. It is going to be particularly interesting to see how TV personalities like Conan O'Brien and Jon StewartJon Stewart, who have previously professed admiration for Letterman just short of sycophancy, will handle the affair.

It would not be surprising to see Letterman survive all this. The biggest factor in his favor is that the public has demonstrated a capacity to forgive and forget just about anything short of murder or other heinous crimes. Indeed, getting knocked off a pedestal only to be erected once again is almost a de rigueur ritual Americans have come to expect from all their icons.

Still, one false move risks personal ruin. Letterman's extended run-in with Sarah Palin over the summer over some ill-conceived japes at her daughter's expense indicated he can be a bit tone deaf as to how he is being perceived.

But Letterman should be as deft at damage control as anyone out there because his own show has been one of the prime pieces of real estate in the image-rehabilitation efforts of other showbiz luminaries, such as the 2006 mea culpa "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards made on his own show. How ironic that the man whose show has helped rebuild a wrecked reputation or two now needs to work similar magic on himself.

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70 Comments

• 1. walter bishop comments: October 03, 2009 I love your "enlightened" prophetic warnings to Letterman. Amazing your short term memory, look at Clinton, Imus, Duane "Dog" Chapman, Bob Barker, etc. etc. all have comeback from the public relations abyss. Jimmy Swaggart was found with numerous prostitutes and continues to earn millions from his moral high ground pulpit. Unless he's found having sex with an elephant and/or minors, Letterman will continue on the air waves without a blip. Wow powerful male has sex with subordinates, find me one that hasn't. He has cash & lawyers, he'll ride this without major scratches. And what of Stephanie Birkitt and her attraction to men in the entertainment industry going from Letterman to Halderman? Talk about a entertainment industry groupie. All subordinates can easily say no and seek legal counsel.
• 2. alan robinson comments: October 03, 2009 First, there can never be consensual sexual relations in the workplace when one party enjoys a superior economic or supervisory position, [directly-indirectly-explicitly-implicity-tacit-stated]. So this guy probably has a profile of a pedaphile. Next go back and review the tape of how "he came on to" Beth Holloway Twitty when she was on his show juxtapose that tape with the comments he has made about Sara Palin's sexual attractiveness on his show+his sexual innuendo comments about Governor Palin's 15 year old daughter. That pretty much sums it up. What would you expect from an organization ran by Les Moonves who was a notorious serial philanderer with the help. No surprise here.
• 3. Momlee comments: October 03, 2009 When you have an ego as large as Letterman the chickens, etc etc. Sarah Palin has the last laugh. Used to be a fan...you lost me..It's time to retire...he has a lot to make up to his family. No jokes can make this better. The funny man got caught...CBS should wake up and kick his unfunny behind out.
• 4. rtfm comments: October 03, 2009 Why did i waste time reading this muk?? You wrote an article speculating about "the facts" that will come out to be more juicy than what you already know. I for one would like this distraction to go away and lets get on with life. If it was a problem to any of the women involved they would have cried "sexual harassment" a long time ago. Give up the rush to create scandal.
• 5. Nowell comments: October 03, 2009 I never bought a gossip magazine or newspaper...whatever you call the gossip articles. Today I buy if any of these gossip magazines able to find and interview the women of David Letterman. Also, his wife's opinion on how many she thinks and how long he's being doing it. Laugh on this Dave...HAHAHAH!
• 6. horseman comments: October 03, 2009 Incredible. I always thought he was gay.
• 7. Sarah comments: October 03, 2009 David Letterman has a new name: David the PERVERT.
• 8. MomNextDoor comments: October 03, 2009 If we were to judge our entertainers by their personal lives, there'd be just about no one left in Hollywood to entertain us. In fact, I think this will add an interesting new dimension to Dave's show--his jokes and interviews will be funny but I think also more cerebral-- so I'll make an extra effort to tune in. Go Dave Go!!!
• 9. romero comments: October 03, 2009 TMZ and National Enquirer go at him!!!! We want hear all the stories not just dave's.
• 10. blindkarma comments: October 03, 2009 Can you name any single adult celebrity or producer who has not dated and had sex with a subordinate? How about a politician or CEO? Or just a local non-profit leader or shop owner? Are you just not getting any that you are so unhappy about other people's sex lives?
• 11. tornado comments: October 03, 2009 #7. Mike has a good point. Makes a lot of sense. Surely there must be more to come... Stay tuned.
• 12. Nowell comments: October 03, 2009 Hey, Mr. David Letterman....guess who's laughing now? I can see Ms. Sarah Palin and her friends laughing at you now. HAHAHA! You're such a hypocrit...hahaha! You must have slept with your assistant's assistant...the under age girls...hahaha! I can't wait for these women to come out and tell the world that it was non-consensual sex. Next stop...GO TO JAIL and DO NOT COLLECT $$$. HAHAHAHAHA!
• 13. CriticalThinker comments: October 03, 2009 Favortism--whether the employee the boss sleeps, golf, drinks, bets or watches tv with or just because the employee is fun to work with --is not against the law, And goes on to some extent everywhere.
• 14. notpollyanna comments: October 03, 2009 You underestimate Letterman's fan base.
• 15. TheBigPicture comments: October 03, 2009 Letterman is a Perv.
• 16. myname comments: October 03, 2009 Letterman is stupid! He thinks he can do any dam thing he wants. Never liked his sorry a** get rid of him and bring on the next talent from SNL. PEACE!!
• 17. froppy comments: October 03, 2009 I don't see where there is any hypocricy with Letterman telling jokes about politicians who had affairs. It is so funny how Fox and conservatives are turning this into a political scandal. First of all, you can't compare entertainment biz to politics, second, he wasn't even married when he had these trysts so I don't see how it can be compared to Sanford, Ensign, and Edwards. Not even close to being in the same category -single man sleeping around vs. married man sleeping around. Single men sleeping around seems to be the norm these days. No one knows what kind of "exclusive dating" agreement, if any, he had with any of these women he had liasons with. That being said, sexual harassment is the only issue that matters, and no woman has come forward yet to accuse him of this. I'm sure if it occurred, it will soon become known.
• 18. amal comments: October 03, 2009 Good article, with more details than most I've read. so far. Let's hope that he has his affairs in order (no pun intended). No need to update his resume, surely he can plan a good retirement. Maybe become Ad-Hoc president of Worldwide Pants (again, no pun intended). Indeed, his pants are wider than we all thought, we've had enough of him, IMO. You have a good life now, Dave.
• 19. CriticalThinker comments: October 03, 2009 "Any other employer having sex with his employees would loose his job and be sued into oblivion" Totally, completely not true. This goes on everywhere, every day, and if you don't know or believe that you are incredibly naive and/or living in a fantasy world.
• 20. steve-o comments: October 03, 2009 letterman has visciously and relentlessly attacked people like sarah palin yet now who looks like a pathetic hypocrite?
• 21. davidfan13 comments: October 03, 2009 hes cool
• 22. Ted comments: October 03, 2009 "the witch hunt to surface the unidentified women Letterman slept with has already yielded names like Stephanie Birkitt." "Names like"? Yeah?? Name them then. In fact it has yielded exactly ONE name, that of Birkitt. Nobody "like" her. And lest we forget she was the blackmailers girlfriend. Letterman isn't in any kind of trouble -- if David Vitter -- Bible-thumper (R) Louisiana can run for reelection after being caught screwing prostitutes (which is against the law), what possible trouble will an unmarried talkshow host get into for love affairs? Worthless article, the Hollywood Reporter should be ashamed.
• 23. blindkarma comments: October 03, 2009 David Letterman was not married. He was dating and having sex like most single adults. Dating an employee or subordinate is not a crime, folks. Poor judgment, yes, due to the scrutiny, gossip, and appearance of impropriety, but not actual misconduct itself. Again, dating a subordinate is not a crime folks. Many companies have rules against dating, because it can get messy, but many also do not and there are no laws governing this. Whereas sexual harassment is an actionable tort or a crime, not one of the involved persons has made such a claim.
• 24. Mike comments: October 03, 2009 All we have heard is Letterman's take on all of this. It will be interesting to see what happens when the accused reveals that he was simply giving Letterman first right to the story for "World Wide Pants". Since he never actually talked to Letterman it may be that Letterman's lawyers are trying to salvage this by saying it was extortion. If it comes out that there was also other publishers/producers that were also given the screen play Letterman will be toast.
• 25. Steve comments: October 03, 2009 Mark, he's only been married a year.
• 26. jake the snake comments: October 03, 2009 big deal he f**ked alot chicks. who hasn't being in the entertaining business.
• 27. Mark comments: October 03, 2009 I love Dave as a late night talk show host. However I'm not going to let that get in the way with any perception of what he has done. He has violated his wife in this. He has abused his power in the workplace. His actions show signs of sexual addiction. Get real and get well Dave and practice saying sorry with authenticity.
• 28. qwer2432 comments: October 03, 2009 Idiots with no imagination really like him, but he was never that funny - maybe a top 10 Letterman sex positions or his 10 best sexual trists with minors could be his next show, and hey, that show may appear in the courtroon, HHB
• 29. Dr. Coctopuss comments: October 03, 2009 MY PREDICTION: one year from now this Letterman thing is gone, forgiven and forgotten, and everybody passing judgement goes back to making their celebrity billboard collages cut from photos from National Enquirer.
• 30. Jim1982 comments: October 03, 2009 Letterman's sex life is no one's business, period the end. An extortion plot certainly doesn't change that.
• 31. jdr comments: October 03, 2009 Unbelievable. He's a man. So what. With stories like this pretending to be relevant we have signs that these times are bringing us down. The sex was consensual. My God. That rat fink extortionist needs to be beat silly.
• 32. ashton1993 comments: October 03, 2009 We need to keep him. he's a real funny guy. GET OVER IT PEOPLE!!!
• 33. joel18 comments: October 03, 2009 Yea you're right kristen. We shouldn't be worried about this. this isn't BIG news. We should be worried about the Swine Flu.
• 34. Jeremy comments: October 03, 2009 The best exit strategy for the not funny grandpa is "early withdraw". It's time for the old pervert to retire.
• 35. dentlaw comments: October 03, 2009 He absolutely should be fired !!
• 36. aaron comments: October 03, 2009 We need hosts like this. hopefully he gets away with it and they still air his show. He's funny and entertaining.
• 37. rudy comments: October 03, 2009 His wife will not leave him. He's rich and He'll apologize to her and tell her he was sorry and that it won't ever happen again. She will forgive him. end of story
• 38. Kristin comments: October 03, 2009 All you Idiots who think this is a big deal worth so much hype need to go get a hobby or go have sex. He didn't force anyone to have sex with him or they would have come out with the story long before now. With everything else happening in the world this shouldn't even be news.
• 39. westwind comments: October 03, 2009 As long as it was consensual between the party's who business is it anyways only the dirt papers and so called dirt reporting news (HA HA) Organizations
• 40. orion2 comments: October 03, 2009 I guess NBC was right to choose Leno for the Tonight Show. He proved to have more class than Letterman.
• 41. dave comments: October 03, 2009 that dude ugly. he got a fat wallet though.
• 42. 2. Richard comments: October 03, 2009 A lot of pontificating about very little me thinks... very little has been disclosed, and it's the (squeaky clean himself perchance?) author who's been doing all the speculating and supposing. And for that matter why do we care? Unless they were in an agreed upon open marriage, it's Dave who has to face Regina at the end of the day and explain to her why he was sleeping around. Maybe Dave will be sleeping on the couch for a while. Will Regina divorce him? I doubt it.. at least not for this... she's no beauty queen herself and life is good unless Dave is some kind of tyrant at home. This will blow over, and Halderman will soon be doing some serious personal time with his cellmate "Bubba".
• 43. markci comments: October 03, 2009 *** Yea I know alot of what is going on behind curtains. He will go down!! *** You know exactly **** about ****, fucktard.
• 44. dave comments: October 03, 2009 That dude ugly **** hell. He got a fat wallet though
• 45. cw414800 comments: October 03, 2009 What some have failed to mention is that David Letterman was a single man, the men he has joked about had their affairs while married.
• 46. anonymous comments: October 03, 2009 Yea I know alot of...