Letterman admits affairs, discusses extortion attempt

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

I don't see the majority of famous people going about it this way, so just wondering why he decided to.

And you see he's getting flack than other famous people who try to hide it, so it seems a bit obvious, doesn't it?

[molson]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Are you going to take up the cause against all celebrities that have had affairs? If so, I think you won't have much free time, but let me know when you share your thoughts on McCain.

I was wondering when the first "McCain cheats on his wife too!" post would happen. I must admit, it was sooner than I thought it would be, considering this even't a thread about a politician.

You guys LOVE that angle, even though it never goes anywhere because nobody defends McCain's infidelity.

Go ahead and keep throwing it out there though.

[RainMaker]

Am I the only one who just doesn't give a shit when celebrities and athletes cheat? I kind of assume they all do. Then again, I hate how much attention we give to celebrity lives and am annoyed by the neverending news cycles (this, Jackson death, Jon & Kate, etc).

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

And you see he's getting flack than other famous people who try to hide it, so it seems a bit obvious, doesn't it?

They all get flack, just depends upon how much information is available and how famous they are.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Am I the only one who just doesn't give a shit when celebrities and athletes cheat? I kind of assume they all do. Then again, I hate how much attention we give to celebrity lives and am annoyed by the neverending news cycles (this, Jackson death, Jon & Kate, etc).

[Noop]

Am I the only who thinks this guy is Izulde's long lost twin?

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by molson

I was wondering when the first "McCain cheats on his wife too!" post would happen. I must admit, it was sooner than I thought it would be, considering this even't a thread about a politician.

You guys LOVE that angle, even though it never goes anywhere because nobody defends McCain's infidelity.

Go ahead and keep throwing it out there though.

But uh, the point was that MBBF is being self-righteous here but was never self-righteous about it in the past, sort of like when he pretended to be outraged by Obama's special olympics joke. I could care less that McCain had an affair. I never called him a schmuck for it. And neither did anyone else here that's criticizing Letterman.

[RainMaker]

I still don't get why anyone gives a shit if McCain cheated or not. Same goes for any politician.

They work for us and that's it. We judge them on their performance in that job. If you owned a company, would you fire a great salesman because you found out he was having an affair? Of course not, you wouldn't give a shit as long as he was making your company money.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I still don't get why anyone gives a shit if McCain cheated or not. Same goes for any politician.

They work for us and that's it. We judge them on their performance in that job. If you owned a company, would you fire a great salesman because you found out he was having an affair? Of course not, you wouldn't give a shit as long as he was making your company money.

Cheating/infidelity is widely considered to be a character flaw (and rightly so). That salesman who is having an affair, is he representing your company poorly by doing so? Maybe, maybe not. I guarantee that a politician, and even most celebrities are making a poor representation of their respective profession by showing poor personal judgment such as infidelity. I feel confident in saying that every time one of our politicians is caught in an infidelity scandal, the rest of the world is laughing its collective ass off at us.

In addition, when your job involves anything to do with the public eye, that is part of how we judge your performance.

[Edward64]

On the surface, I don't really care what Dave was doing on the side and would consider it a private matter between him and his family.

However, a boss sleeping with staffers is just wrong. The story has yet to come out but would not be surprised if there was some quid-pro-quo etc involved etc. Lawsuits forthcoming and wouldn't be surprised if Dave was canned.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

I feel confident in saying that every time one of our politicians is caught in an infidelity scandal, the rest of the world is laughing its collective ass off at us.

Except in France and Italy!

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Lawsuits forthcoming and wouldn't be surprised if Dave was canned.

I would be shocked if Dave lost his job over this. And if he was, somebody else would scoop him up immediately.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Kodos

And if he was, somebody else would scoop him up immediately.

Just hypothetically speaking, who, and for what purpose?

NBC would likely be out as they're not only on the block but also have a surplus of late night hosts already.

Would ABC be willing to completely revamp a lineup that they've already invested time & money into and that's happily perking right along at this point? I think not.

That leaves Fox, who doesn't even program past 10pm at this point. Maybe they would be interested in trying something like an 11pm Letterman to follow 10pm local news but that'd be awfully expensive for something likely to be clobbered by 11pm news in a lot of markets.

What's left then? HBO? Showtime? I don't see any regular cable network paying him the kind of money he gets now.

Point being that it might be tougher than you think for him to find a gig that isn't a major drop from the current one. And at his age, would he even be interested in taking a huge pay & status cut just to keep working? More likely to me is that he would end up in at least short term semi-retirement or inactive status for a while.

Not that I think he's going to lose his job over this in the first place, just speaking hypothetically here.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

But uh, the point was that MBBF is being self-righteous here but was never self-righteous about it in the past, sort of like when he pretended to be outraged by Obama's special olympics joke. I could care less that McCain had an affair. I never called him a schmuck for it. And neither did anyone else here that's criticizing Letterman.

Pulling out McCain was a weak argument ploy. Everyone else called you out for it, so I won't bother going any further.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

Cheating/infidelity is widely considered to be a character flaw (and rightly so). That salesman who is having an affair, is he representing your company poorly by doing so? Maybe, maybe not. I guarantee that a politician, and even most celebrities are making a poor representation of their respective profession by showing poor personal judgment such as infidelity. I feel confident in saying that every time one of our politicians is caught in an infidelity scandal, the rest of the world is laughing its collective ass off at us.

In addition, when your job involves anything to do with the public eye, that is part of how we judge your performance.

As long as he's not screwing in the office or with anyone else in the office, I don't care. He is an employee who is hired to do a job. If he does it between 9-5, that's all that matters in my book. He can go home and do whatever debauchery he wants to do and as long as it has no effect on my busienss, I don't care.

I understand that is how we judge performance, I'm just saying we shouldn't. We should judge a politician on what they do in the job they were voted in to do. What they do in their personal life is their own business. I doubt many people here would fire their best salesman for having an affair on his own time. Why should we treat our politicians any differently?

[stevew]

Really need to see pix of the ladies before I can make a judgement on whether or not it was worth it.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Pulling out McCain was a weak argument ploy. Everyone else called you out for it, so I won't bother going any further.

Since when does molson = everyone else?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

Cheating/infidelity is widely considered to be a character flaw (and rightly so). That salesman who is having an affair, is he representing your company poorly by doing so? Maybe, maybe not. I guarantee that a politician, and even most celebrities are making a poor representation of their respective profession by showing poor personal judgment such as infidelity. I feel confident in saying that every time one of our politicians is caught in an infidelity scandal, the rest of the world is laughing its collective ass off at us.

In addition, when your job involves anything to do with the public eye, that is part of how we judge your performance.

I'd also note that I've seen several people canned in various jobs because they became so preoccupied with mending fences at home or involved in a divorce because of it that they neglected their job duties as a result.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by stevew

Really need to see pix of the ladies before I can make a judgement on whether or not it was worth it.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Just hypothetically speaking, who, and for what purpose?

NBC would likely be out as they're not only on the block but also have a surplus of late night hosts already.

Would ABC be willing to completely revamp a lineup that they've already invested time & money into and that's happily perking right along at this point? I think not.

That leaves Fox, who doesn't even program past 10pm at this point. Maybe they would be interested in trying something like an 11pm Letterman to follow 10pm local news but that'd be awfully expensive for something likely to be clobbered by 11pm news in a lot of markets.

What's left then? HBO? Showtime? I don't see any regular cable network paying him the kind of money he gets now.

Point being that it might be tougher than you think for him to find a gig that isn't a major drop from the current one. And at his age, would he even be interested in taking a huge pay & status cut just to keep working? More likely to me is that he would end up in at least short term semi-retirement or inactive status for a while.

Not that I think he's going to lose his job over this in the first place, just speaking hypothetically here.

ABC would change everything for him. They've wanted him forever and there is nothing they are running that is really all that exhilirating. They'd bump Kimmell back a half hour and Letterman would be a great lead-in for him anyway.

I could also see Fox doing something with him at the 11pm timeslot. It's mostly just re-runs they run of some syndicated show, but it's actually a great timeslot since it runs against most local news outlets that people are starting to not watch anyway. Gives a nice option for those at 11pm who don't want to watch the local news.

He's simply too talented to be unemployed.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'd also note that I've seen several people canned in various jobs because they became so preoccupied with mending fences at home or involved in a divorce because of it that they neglected their job duties as a result.

But that's different. That's him not performing his duties at work. I'm saying all that should matter is job performance.

[ISiddiqui]

Agreed that ABC would move heaven and earth to get Letterman on their network.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

But that's different. That's him not performing his duties at work. I'm saying all that should matter is job performance.

Sure, but his loyalty to the job could be brought into question given his relative lack of self-control on a personal level. The salesman could just as easily leave the company high and dry.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Sure, but his loyalty to the job could be brought into question given his relative lack of self-control on a personal level. The salesman could just as easily leave the company high and dry.

I think its just TV/hollywood/the movies.

Everybody cheats. If you're a big star, nobody cares (including in many cases, the wife). Letterman will buy his wife a big ring. He might have to testify at a trial. Otherwise, nothing's different on his end, or from the perspective of his employer.

[Young Drachma]

Ex-wife of David Letterman blackmail suspect lives in Fort Collins | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan,

Not cool that the press is sitting outside her house now waiting to talk to her. I'm guessing they're going to ask about that child support bill and how he's gonna pay it now that he's probably headed to prison and will certainly lose his job at CBS.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Just hypothetically speaking, who, and for what purpose?

The Tonight Show would probably drop Conan and scoop up Letterman!



Obviously, you're much more in tune with this stuff than I am. I just think a guy like Letterman, who has a loyal following, would not remain unemployed long. I could well be wrong.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by molson

I think its just TV/hollywood/the movies.

Everybody cheats.

Um, what?

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'd also note that I've seen several people canned in various jobs because they became so preoccupied with mending fences at home or involved in a divorce because of it that they neglected their job duties as a result.

Originally Posted by RainMaker

But that's different. That's him not performing his duties at work. I'm saying all that should matter is job performance.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by molson

Everybody cheats.

But not everybody is clutch.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Ex-wife of David Letterman blackmail suspect lives in Fort Collins | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan,

Not cool that the press is sitting outside her house now waiting to talk to her. I'm guessing they're going to ask about that child support bill and how he's gonna pay it now that he's probably headed to prison and will certainly lose his job at CBS.

Yeah I agree. There seems to be no lines that can't be crossed anymore for a good story on TMZ, Access Hollywood, ET, etc...(not that I watch these shows or anything).

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Sure, but his loyalty to the job could be brought into question given his relative lack of self-control on a personal level. The salesman could just as easily leave the company high and dry.

Would you not hire fat people? I mean they have self-control issues too I guess.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

ABC would change everything for him. They've wanted him forever and there is nothing they are running that is really all that exhilirating. They'd bump Kimmell back a half hour and Letterman would be a great lead-in for him anyway.

Seems like you're assuming Nightline has no value to them, in spite of the fact that it's well on it's way to becoming the #2 show in the time slot and if there's a weakened (or suddenly gone) Letterman, it's a legit contender to win the timeslot outright. No chance in hell they'd throw Letterman money at him in that scenario, it'd be too idiotic even for network TV execs.

I could also see Fox doing something with him at the 11pm timeslot. ... Gives a nice option for those at 11pm who don't want to watch the local news.

Damned small audience you're talking about there though. If they're on broadcast at that time, they're on local news by a huge margin. And if they've already gone to cable, there's nothing that indicates that they're ever coming back to broadcast. That's a steadily shrinking niche and it'd be a hell of an expensive proposition for minimal return to the local affiliate.

He's simply too talented to be unemployed.

Major fallacy there, nobody is too talented to be unemployed at a price of the talent's choosing. I don't picture him willing to rebuild his situation at a discount, nor do I believe if he were eliminated as competition anyone would pay him what he'd likely want in order to come to work. The value of him to ABC today lies in taking him away from someone else, if that were hypothetically done already, it's a whole different ball game.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Obviously, you're much more in tune with this stuff than I am. I just think a guy like Letterman, who has a loyal following, would not remain unemployed long. I could well be wrong.

Like I said, I just think it'd be a longer run that anyone would expect at first blush. There aren't that many candidates to hire him and I think his value gets diminished the minute he becomes unemployed, quite possibly to a point that isn't worth it to him at least not without some lengthy negotiations. Eventually he probably finds a job in that scenario, I just don't believe it's as quickly as first look would tend to make people think.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Would you not hire fat people? I mean they have self-control issues too I guess.

I've also seen a fat guy who was fired because he fell asleep on the job. It was caused by sleep apnea. Same thing. It was a personal situation, but it adversely affected his job performance, so you have to fire them if it continues to happen.

[path12]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Word. I mean is there any other talk show host who makes as much fun as himself? Conan tries, but Letterman has far more self-depricating humor.

Craig Ferguson?

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Just hypothetically speaking, who, and for what purpose?

CNN as Larry King's replacement?

[Karlifornia]

Just watch Conan if you're that pissed off.

Oh, who am I kidding? Nobody watches Conan.

[Galaril]

So he was banging sweet little Stephanie

[Abe Sargent]

Awesoe

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I believe that a person committed in a relationship should not cheat on that person. I realize that's too much to ask for some people who don't have that kind of self control, but that's the way I feel and I hold to that belief personally as well. I can't imagine a higher level of disrespect to a person whom you've committed to as a spouse and best friend.

That is what disappoints me about this. I wish David hadn't done what he did because it's not right.

But I've had friends who have cheated on their spouses. If they're my friend, I don't love them any less. I've been watching Dave for 30 years -- I was probably the only nine-year-old in America who watched his morning show religiously and my first memories of him are from when my grandparents let me stay up late and seeing him on the Tonight Show. I've been a fan for a long time.

This doesn't change the way I feel about Dave. I wish he hadn't done it but it's no different to me than if my best friend had done this. I might smack him in the head and ask what the hell he was thinking but at the end of the day he would still be my friend.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Just hypothetically speaking, who, and for what purpose? ... Not that I think he's going to lose his job over this in the first place, just speaking hypothetically here.

Including the last line because I want to agree with it right off the bat. The only thing that might happen is that CBS looks to discount the extension they are currently negotiating. Letterman remains too much of a cash cow to CBS. Once you add in all revenues and subtract licensing and costs, CBS probably makes $150 million a year or more off Letterman directly, and more indirectly through promotions and other ratings boosts. Without Letterman CBS doesn't have two hours of late night programming.

As for who would want him, no doubt he would be damaged goods. But ABC would certainly disrupt their lineup for him. They were willing to do it twice before when they've made offers to him and ABC pursued both Leno and Conan.

Nightline's regurgence is nothing new. As news ebbs and flows Nightline over the years has always fluctuated. There is nothing to suggest that Nightline's recent ratings are anything more than high tide. Plus, with Letterman you're delivering a full hour, not just a 1/2 hour. In the past ABC has seemed willing to punt Nightline but let's assume for moment they don't -- let's say they throw a ton of money at Letterman and bring him in to follow Nightline with Kimmel next. Letterman would double Kimmel's audience and pushing Kimmel back an hour probably wouldn't change his ratings much at all. ABC would go from having a competitive half hour of late night to the most dominant 2 1/2 hour block on network TV, while CBS is in disarray.

Will never happen because CBS won't let Letterman go. My guess is this won't impact the ratings much at all.

[kcchief19]

And while I'm at it, it's ridiculous to compare Letterman to Clinton, Edwards, Sanford, Spitzer, et. al. (and even more ridiculous to compare him to Polanski). Letterman isn't a politician and has never preached values while living his life a different way. And for people who say that Letterman picks on people and is mean spirited, they obviously don't watch the show. Letterman is notorious for his self-deprecation and is by all accounts one of the most self-critical people in the world. This event might just be freeing for him because I bet he hasn't been proud of what he's done in the past.

And while I'm disappointed in him for what he's done in the past, I respect him for coming clean and telling the truth -- who was the last one who did that with the straight forwardness Letterman did the other night? Every two-bit politican who has pulled off this stunt has denied and lied until he couldn't any more. Letterman told us what he did before anyone else reported it. What he did was wrong but what he did Thursday was the right thing.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

But ABC would certainly disrupt their lineup for him. They were willing to do it twice before when they've made offers to him and ABC pursued both Leno and Conan.

And ABC hasn't been this happy with their late night lineup in a looong while.

There is nothing to suggest that Nightline's recent ratings are anything more than high tide.

Strongly disagree on that point. The shrinking graying audience & the revamped format that hasn't turned them off while drawing younger demos are both very good signs for the show.

Letterman would double Kimmel's audience and pushing Kimmel back an hour probably wouldn't change his ratings much at all.

Agreed on both points ... but is the difference in the cost of Letterman vs Kimmel made up by doubling it? In this environment, which is only getting steadily worse for network TV, I have to think that's a no.

ABC would go from having a competitive half hour of late night to the most dominant 2 1/2 hour block on network TV, while CBS is in disarray.

Let's be honest here, given the state of disarray that CBS morning has been in for so long, do you really think they're actually that perturbed at the prospect of some disarray? Outside of primetime, that's their usual state.

[RomaGoth]

Well said, Kcchief.

[Celeval]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Let his wife (who was his live-in girlfriend for many years) know that it's not quite the level of infidelity that she thinks it is because they didn't have a piece of paper when it happened.

You're also assuming here that, if the affair (as stated) was 6+ years in the past, they hadn't already discussed it, got it out in the open, and dealt with it.

[Axxon]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Would you not hire fat people? I mean they have self-control issues too I guess.

I suppose if their goal was to be a skinny person that would mean that they have self-control issues. If that wasn't one of their goals and they're maintaining a weight that has allowed them to pursue and achieve their actual goals they may have perfectly good self-control. Maintaining any weight requires some degree of self control.