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Video: Letterman Explains Sex-Extortion Plot
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 2, 2009
Modified Oct 3, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 2, 2009
Modified Oct 3, 2009
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Below is video of David Letterman explaining to his talk audience—and the rest of America—about how he was extorted for $2 million or else his sexual relationships with female Late Show staffers would be revealed. About 7 minutes 25 seconds in, Letterman explains what the "creepy stuff" in the blackmail package was: "The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show."
The AP's Lynn Elber called the near-10 minute monologue "an extraordinary journey that was part confessional, part entertainment and wholly, if jarringly, hypnotic... The medium has come close to moments like this before — Hugh Grant's prostitute mea culpa on 'Tonight' is the familiar example of recent years — but never achieved the merger of farce and drama that Letterman finessed... By turns raffish, somber, self-effacing, blunt and coyly, comically manipulative, Letterman wove a mystery tale of his own behavior and that of a CBS' '48 Hours' employee arrested in an alleged multimillion-dollar extortion plot against him." In other words, Best Confession By A Talk Show Host About Being Shaken Down Over Banging Staffers Ever! Yay, TV!
Of course, Letterman probably came forward because news of his grand jury testimony and the arrest of suspect Robert Halderman, nabbed yesterday, would be in the news. The Post reports that Halderman was taken into custody at CBS's West Side studios and "was charged with attempted grand larceny." And jealousy/opportunity could be a motivation: "A woman Halderman, of Norwalk, Conn., had formerly dated told the divorced TV producer that she once had had a fling with Letterman, law-enforcement sources said. She made the revelation after she and Halderman broke up several months ago."
The Daily News asked folks outside the Ed Sullivan Theater what they thought. One couple was split: The wife said, "You think he'd be smarter and find ways not to get extorted," while the husband was in awe, "I feel different about Dave; he looks younger in my eyes. He's got some mojo now" (the wife then hit him in the arm). And another woman said, "What a player. David Letterman is a pimp. I'm not really surprised."
Tagged
blackmail
david letterman
extortion
late show
manhattan da
sex with staffers
tv
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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