Of the late night shows that I have watched, David Letterman has been my favorite. He reminds me a bit of me. That self-depreciating humor, the ability to see yourself as the dork and nowhere near the cool crowd in high school. I just never got the giggles watching Leno and don’t get me started with this Leno on during primetime.
When the news came out that he had been blackmailed (“allegedly”) and why he had well I paused. The debates sprang up throughout the media, people calling for him to get canned, Perez Hilton recycling news stories and claiming them as his own, calling Letterman out for his bad behavior (um, pot, meet kettle, you are both black, okay?) and others jumping to Letterman’s defense. And I started to think about it.
During most of this bad behavior he was not married, had not taken vows nor have any of the women who have slept with him come out to state that they were forced into the situation in order to keep their jobs. Trust me, I have looked. One of his ex’s came out stating that she was hurt because he promised she would be the only one he cheated on.
Dave is a likable guy, the fact that he came clean instead of bow down to someone blackmailing him (“allegedly”) means a lot to me, as someone who has watched and enjoyed his show. He knows he has messed up and that there will be a lot of work to do in terms of his marriage but that is between him and his wife. Not the media. Not me or anyone else in the public.
I have been around men like him, I have enjoyed their company on occasion but would I personally slept with those men? No. That is just me though. I guess I would be further along in my career had I ever entertained that thought. I am also kind of slow when it comes to men hitting on me. I didn’t realize until way after the fact that a man high up in a company I used to work for wanted to sleep with me. In fact, it wasn’t until he said he was coming into town, not to visit the office but to make up for a shitty Valentine’s day that I had by taking me out for drinks, dinner and dancing did I finally realize this. I immediately said thanks but no thanks but I was shocked. Sure he was flirty but I used to be a flirt, so I never thought twice about it.
A college professor used to say things to me all of the time, I took it as he was just a dirty old man and shrugged it off. I guess I could have some money by now had I pressed the issue with higher ups in either situation but I never did. I also never suffered in my job or my college courses either so their desires were not tied into me doing well. Thank goodness for that at least.
For me personally, as a young women just starting out, I was flattered that they thought I was cute. I also wanted to smack them and mention that they too have daughters and how would they feel if she was in my shoes.
While I think it is sad that Letterman carried on these affairs, it is not for me to judge. I like him as an entertainer. I would have stronger feelings if he were say my boss, professor or pastor. Cut him some slack, he is going to be dealing with the consequences of his choices for quite some time and those that he has to make amends to are his wife and child. And while he is a deeply private man, I believe most of the world has know for quite some time that he had a significant other. So I have to question the women that came and went in his life. They knew yet they chose to hop in bed. Last time I checked it takes two to tango.
Stumbling Through Life 