WASHINGTON — A man who makes his living mocking such ripe targets as philandering politicians has suddenly become a national punch line.
A veteran entertainer who is seen in people’s homes when most of them are in bed has now confessed to “creepy” behavior.
David Letterman got out ahead of an embarrassing sex scandal by breaking the news himself, telling viewers Thursday that he did in fact have sexual relations with those women, who, by the way, happened to work for him.
And although the CBS host is clearly the victim of a bizarre extortion plot, he has also become a 62-year-old married man with an image problem.
“Every time he cracks one of those jokes,” said former CBS and NBC producer Steve Friedman, “you’ll look at him in a different way, won’t you?”
Letterman, who has been doing late-night comedy since 1982, has never marketed himself as a choirboy, but admitting he had sex with subordinates leaves a whole lot of unanswered questions.
He was awkward on Thursday’s show, veering between angst and subdued humor, as he described the “scary” ordeal of trying to protect himself, his family, the other women — and his job.
Ken Sunshine, a veteran public-relations specialist, minimizes the professional fallout for Letterman: “He didn’t murder anybody. He was extorted. It’s consenting adults. Nobody’s accusing him of rape. This is shoplifting, maybe. . . . Unless someone accuses him of using his position to forcibly come on to some of the women, to me, it’s none of my . . . business.”
Michael Sitrick, a Los Angeles publicist, says the public “is more forgiving of someone in the entertainment business” than elected officials.
“He had sex with women in the office, and there will be some people upset about this — but I’m not sure his audience really is,” Sitrick said. “If a woman had said, ‘Look, I worked for him, I kept resisting, but I was afraid I’d lose my job,’ it would be different.”
In an era when political sex scandals have become a front-page staple — John Edwards, Mark Sanford, John Ensign, to name a few — Letterman’s dalliances might be brushed off as commonplace.
And by framing the story with himself as the victim (CBS News producer Robert “Joe” Halderman was charged in a $2 million extortion plot Friday), he avoided the drip-drip-drip of incremental disclosures.
But the puzzle still has missing pieces. Did 34-year-old Stephanie Birkitt, a Letterman assistant who later moved in with Halderman, get a prominent on-air role because of a relationship with the comedian? Who are the other women? Did any of them feel pressured by Letterman?
“He’s being treated differently because he’s a favorite of the press,” said Tobe Berkovitz, an associate professor of communication at Boston University.
The liberal-leaning media, Berkowitz said, “are cutting him slack they wouldn’t if it was a CEO or a senator. It’s still abusing your role as a boss.”
While there may be some sympathy for Letterman because of the extortion scheme, he added, “he’s being blackmailed for something he really did do.”
What happens next depends on the course of the investigation, Letterman’s handling of new revelations and whether other comics lay off their comrade.
CBS clearly has a great deal invested in its late-night star. But it’s not hard to come up with a Top Ten List of reasons why Letterman needs to tread carefully.
