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Ex-Letterman writer claims hostile environment

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Oct 282009

A former writer for David Letterman said she quit his NBC talk show in part because of alleged sexual favoritism and a hostile work environment.

Nell Scovell, writing for Vanity Fair online Tuesday, said she had no intention of filing a lawsuit and wasn’t seeking revenge.

“I wanted to shine a light on gender inequality in that particular workplace,” Scovell, who went on to a successful Hollywood career, said in a telephone interview.

In the Vanity Fair article, Scovell said Letterman didn’t “hit on her” during her roughly five-month stint with NBC’s “Late Night with David Letterman” in 1990.

“Did he pay me enough extra attention that it was noted by another writer? Yes. Was I aware of rumors that Dave was having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes,” Scovell wrote.

Other high-level male employees were having sexual relationships with female staffers as well, she alleges, and the women gained professional benefits from those relationships.

“Did that make me feel demeaned? Completely. Did I say anything at the time? Sadly, no,” wrote Scovell, whose credits include writing for the series “Coach” and “Monk” and creating “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.” She’s also produced and directed.

Letterman, who moved to CBS in 1993 for “Late Show,” has admitted to workplace affairs that led to an alleged blackmail plot.

Officials from Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, Inc., declined to comment Tuesday on Scovell’s article.

CBS News producer Robert J. “Joe” Halderman has pleaded not guilty to trying to extort $2 million from Letterman to keep some of the comedian’s sexual affairs quiet.

Scovell wrote she doesn’t intend to seek legal action. Instead, she said, she wants to call attention to the complete lack of women writers on all talk shows, whether hosted by Letterman or NBC’s Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien.

“I don’t want compensation. I don’t want revenge. I don’t want Dave to go down (oh, grow up, people). I just want Dave to hire some qualified female writers and then treat them with respect. And that goes for Jay and Conan, too,” she wrote.

She quit Letterman’s NBC show, Scovell wrote, because she saw “I was not going to thrive professionally in that workplace. And although there were various reasons for that, sexual politics did play a major part.”

When Letterman asked why she was leaving the New York-based show, she says she considered telling him the truth but balked because his “rumored mistress” was within earshot. Instead, Scovell writes, she told him she missed Los Angeles.

“You’re welcome back anytime,” Scovell recalls Letterman telling her.

Looks Like Letterman’s Jump Off Is A Cheater Too

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Oct 062009

Former “Late Show” staffer Stephanie Birkitt revealed in her diary that she continued having sex with boss David Letterman even after moving in with her CBS-producer boyfriend, who later allegedly tried to extort him over the affair, sources told The Post yesterday.

Letterman and Birkitt enjoyed romantic hikes last fall at his sprawling ranch in eastern Montana — where he was married in March — while her boyfriend, “48 Hours Mystery” producer Robert “Joe” Halderman, stayed home in Connecticut, the sources said.

At the time, Birkitt, 34, insisted to Halderman that she and the 62-year-old Letterman had just “a platonic relationship,” a source said.

“I’m his best friend,” Birkitt told the worried 51-year-old Halderman, the source said.

Letterman was such a good “friend” that at least once a week, he also would drive Birkitt home to Norwalk, Conn., where she had been sharing a house with Halderman since he divorced his wife in 2004, sources said. The TV funnyman lived with his longtime girlfriend and their son in Westchester.

The multimillionaire comic even did his best to keep Birkitt, a graduate of Benjamin Cardozo Law School, on his payroll.

After she graduated in June 2008, he offered her a job as his personal lawyer, the sources said.

Birkitt later tried to use the generous offer to persuade Halderman to have children with her, saying she would bring in the bucks in her new job and he could stay home as a Mr. Mom, the sources said.

Halderman exploded when he read Birkitt’s diary in December and learned that she was still carrying on a steamy affair with Letterman, the sources said.

The bombshell details in the sensational case emerged as Letterman returned to the “Late Show” set for the first time since Thursday, when he stunned his audience by revealing he had had sexual affairs with female staffers and allegedly had been the target of a related $2 million extortion plot by Halderman.

A clearly chastened Letterman was greeted with thunderous applause during the show’s taping in the Ed Sullivan Theater in Midtown last night.

“Wow, that weekend went fast,” Letterman deadpanned as he opened his monologue.

Sitting down at his desk, Letterman turned serious, saying, “No, I’m not having sex” with any staff members currently, and insisting, “You can’t be victimized by criminals.”

(source)

Video: David Letterman Apologizes To His Wife

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Oct 062009

David Letterman apologized to his wife while taping his late-night show Monday. During a taping Monday of the Late Show, David Letterman apologized for the attention and inquiries that have been aimed at his staff and family. Below is an excerpt:

Tune In TONIGHT To See David Letterman Apologize To His Wife!!

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Oct 052009

David Letterman apologized to his wife on Monday’s “Late Show,” saying she had been “horribly hurt by my behavior.”

The late-night host vowed to repair his relationship with his wife, Regina Lasko.

“Let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me,” said Letterman, according to an early transcript of the program released by CBS.

Monday’s show was the first Letterman taped since Thursday, when he disclosed that he had had sexual relationships with women who worked for him, and that he had been the victim of an alleged $2 million blackmail threat.

Letterman also apologized to his staff for the situation.

“Inadvertently, I just wasn’t thinking ahead,” Letterman said. “My thanks to the staff for, once again, putting up with something stupid I’ve gotten myself involved in.”

Audience members who attended the taping Monday at the Ed Sullivan Theater said Letterman spoke frequently throughout the program about the events. He also joked about the situation with guests Steve Martin and Martin Short.

“He’s not running away from it,” said Brian Lakari, from Green Bay, Wis., who attended the taping with his wife, Kelly. “He brought it into the show several times.”

Lakari said Letterman started his monologue with the subject, and even worked in an apology to “the previous governor of Alaska.” He was referring to Sarah Palin, with whom Letterman had a flap earlier in the year over a joke about her daughters.

It is unclear how many women Letterman had sex with, and he has offered no specifics.

Robert Halderman, a producer for the true-crime show “48 Hours Mystery,” pleaded not guilty last week to extortion charges.

David Letterman should probably care what women think about him – and not just his wife

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Oct 052009

His back to back scandals this year – a crude joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter and revelations through an alleged blackmail attempt by a CBS producer that Letterman had sexual relationships with “Late Show” staff members – are likely to hit his reputation hardest with women.

There are still many unknowns following Letterman’s startling admission last week: How many women were involved? Did the relationships end well? Did women feel pressured by the boss’ advances, or were they happily consensual? Did any other staffers feel the way to get ahead was through Letterman’s bed? Are women who did not have intimate relations with Letterman upset that those who did may have gotten special treatment or career advances? Is anyone talking to lawyers?

All could determine whether Letterman is significantly damaged or if it’s just a footnote to his career.

Certainly, it can’t help when the New York Post blares on its front page: “Dirty Dave’s Harem.”

“It’s very interesting. Men and women think very differently about this story,” NBC News anchor Ann Curry said. “The men I’ve talked to think, `How could a person within your own company kind of betray you like this?’ But the reaction I’m hearing from women is completely on the other end. They’re saying, `How could you have affairs, multiple affairs, with members of your own staff and how does that create a fair and equal working environment?’”

Many women who work in television, and probably most other industries, can recall feeling pressured to do something with a man she works for, said Curry’s colleague, Kathie Lee Gifford.

“I’m not saying David did that, but the details are yet to be discovered,” she said. “They might have been very willing partners who initiated it. We don’t know, but the minute we hear stories like that we go, `Uh-huh.’”

Letterman’s prickly personality and sarcastic humor seem tailor-made for a young, male audience. But the facts tell a different story: Letterman’s typical audience was 58 percent female last season, with an average age of just under 55, according to the Nielsen Co.

In other words, he should care very much whether women are disgusted by his behavior and reject his comedy as a result.

Letterman effectively seized control of his story the first night by establishing himself as a crime victim. The way he revealed his transgressions – by talking about the “terrible, terrible” and “creepy” things that he did before saying what they were – left enough dark thoughts running through viewers’ minds that sex with consenting age staff members seemed mild as a result.

His television performance was judged more than his conduct. The Associated Press said in its headline that Letterman had created a “brilliant, unsettling hour of TV.” Even Linda Stasi of the New York Post, whose gleeful headline writers couldn’t resist “Laid Nights With David Letterman,” said the talk show host’s “explanation-as-monologue was nothing short of brilliant.”

Many of Letterman’s fans seem to recognize he’s an oddball in real life, a man who radiates unapproachability, keeps his studio at freezer temperatures and is prone to constant brooding about past failures (Jay Leno has already left the “Tonight” show, but Letterman still can’t get over losing that gig to him in 1993). Sexual affairs? Seems normal by comparison.

While Letterman’s representatives have released few details about the relationships, they have said they predate his marriage to Regina Lasko in March. The couple has a 5-year-old son.

“I don’t really care who someone sleeps with as long as it’s not coerced and as long as there’s not some explicit or implicit promise of favors or the like,” Kim Gandy, former president of the National Organization for Women, said. “It’s another adult – it’s not a minor. If that’s all it is, he’s a single guy and he had a fling.”

But Gene Grabowski, an expert in crisis public relations for Levick Strategic Communications, said that after a couple of days, the extortion attempt will recede and viewers will focus on Letterman’s behavior. Letterman said on Thursday that he doesn’t plan to address the issue again. Grabowski said he needs to.

“People want to forgive David Letterman,” he said. “People like David Letterman. But he has to do his part to make people want to support him, and that means apologize.”

After Letterman’s joke about Palin’s daughter being “knocked up” by Alex Rodriguez fell horribly flat, he gave a relatively cursory explanation and called it a failed attempt at comedy. After a weekend’s reflection, he came back to give a much stronger apology.

The latest mess comes at a time when Letterman is re-establishing himself as the dominant figure in late-night television. His “Late Show” is nearly must-see TV. Within the past two weeks, he has featured President Barack Obama, Madonna and a riveting personal scandal. The best Conan O’Brien could do was a concussion when a stunt went awry.

Yet the women in Letterman’s audience may need some reassuring.

http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show

CBS worker arrested in David Letterman blackmail plot

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Oct 022009

A CBS News employee is accused of trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman, forcing the late-night host to admit in an extraordinary monologue before millions of viewers that he had sexual relationships with female employees.

Letterman said that “this whole thing has been quite scary.” But he mixed in jokes while outlining what had happened to him, seeming to confuse a laughing audience at Thursday’s taping about whether the story was true.

The network said the person who was arrested works on the true-crime show “48 Hours” and has been suspended. A person with knowledge of the investigation said the suspect is Robert J. Halderman. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because authorities have not released the suspect’s name.

A “48 Hours” producer named Joe Halderman was part of a team nominated for an Emmy for outstanding continuing coverage of a news story in a news magazine in 2008. Two numbers listed for Halderman were disconnected, and a message left at a third number was not immediately returned Thursday.

Letterman’s “Late Show” audience was the first to hear the story, which came as a shock since the 62-year-old Letterman had married longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko in March. The couple began dating in 1986 and have a son, Harry, born in November 2003. Fatherhood and his heart surgery in 2000 had seemed to mellow Letterman, who took over as the most popular late-night comedy host this summer after NBC replaced Jay Leno with Conan O’Brien on the “Tonight” show.

Letterman sat behind his desk to outline the scheme after a monologue that targeted some frequent foils like Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney.

Three weeks ago, Letterman said, he got in his car early in the morning and found a package with a letter saying, “I know that you do some terrible, terrible things and that I can prove that you do some terrible things.” He acknowledged the letter contained proof.

He said it was terrifying “because there’s something insidious about (it). Is he standing down there? Is he hiding under the car? Am I going to get a tap on the shoulder?”

Letterman said he called his lawyer to set up a meeting with the man, who threatened to write a screenplay and a book about Letterman unless he was given money. There were two subsequent meetings, with the man given a phony $2 million check at the last one. Letterman joked it was like the giant ceremonial check given to winners of golf tournaments.

He told the audience that he had to testify before a grand jury on Thursday.

“I was worried for myself, I was worried for my family,” he said. “I felt menaced by this, and I had to tell them all of the creepy things that I had done.”

He said “the creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show. My response to that is yes, I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Yes, it would, especially for the women.”

Whether they wanted to make the relationships public was up to them, he said.

“It’s been a very bizarre experience,” he said. “I felt like I needed to protect these people. I need to protect my family. I need to protect myself. Hope to protect my job.”

CBS said in a statement that “we believe his comments speak for themselves.”

Perhaps as a defense mechanism, Letterman sprinkled his remarks with jokes: “I know what you’re saying,” he said. “I’ll be darned, Dave had sex.”

He said he wouldn’t talk further about it, and recited a Top Ten list. But it wasn’t far from his mind. During banter with actor guest Woody Harrelson, Letterman said, “I’ve got my own problems.”

It was not immediately clear when the relationships took place or how long they lasted. Letterman’s “Late Show” has been on the air since 1993. Before that, “Late Night with David Letterman” aired on NBC from 1982 to 1993.

Letterman won’t be taping a show Friday. Friday night’s show was taped Thursday.

Alicia Maxey Greene, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, declined to comment.

It’s the second set of embarrassing headlines for Letterman in four months. In June, he apologized to Palin for making a crude joke about the former Republican vice presidential candidate’s 14-year-old daughter. Although there was a small “fire Letterman” demonstration outside of his studio later, CBS stood by its late-night star.

Last fall Letterman sharply denounced Palin’s running mate, John McCain, for abruptly canceling a “Late Show” appearance. Weeks of withering jokes by Letterman eventually forced McCain to come on the show and beg for forgiveness.

Letterman was also the victim of a 2005 plot by a former painter on his Montana ranch to kidnap his nanny and son for a $5 million ransom. The former painter, Kelly A. Frank, briefly escaped from prison in 2007 before being recaptured.

Another alleged extortion scandal surrounding a public figure, Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino, similarly forced him this summer to acknowledge an affair.