David Letterman apologizes to staff
A chagrined David Letterman apologized to his staff Monday and noted that his wife has been âhorribly hurtâ by the news that he slept with women who worked for him on CBSâ âLate Showâ in the years leading up to their marriage.
âIf you hurt a person and itâs your responsibility, you try to fix it,â he said on the program. âLet me tell you, folks, I got my work cut out for me.â
Letterman struck a notably more contrite tone than on Thursday, when he revealed that a man had allegedly sought to extort $2 million from him to keep quiet about the comicâs affairs.
âI get in the car this morning and the navigation lady wasnât speaking to me,â he said in his monologue.
The comedian awoke Monday to a torrent of headlines about the scandal. âDaveâs Love Grudge,â shouted the New York Post. âShow Will Go On,â proclaimed the New York Daily News.
CBSâ âThe Early Showâ jumped into the fray as well. In a piece bearing the on-screen caption âLate Show Lovers,â correspondent Bianca Solorzano reported on two women who have been romantically linked to the comic, while anchor Maggie Rodriguez interviewed the lawyer of the accused extortionist.
The alleged attempt by â48 Hours Mysteryâ producer Robert Joel Halderman to blackmail Letterman put CBS in the awkward position of reporting on a scandal involving two of its own. So far, the news division has devoted an amount of coverage comparable to its competitorsâ, even as Haldermanâs colleagues puzzle over his behavior.
âAll of us here at CBS [are] just shocked to hear that our own David Letterman was reportedly being blackmailed by a CBS News employee,â Rodriguez said on the air Friday in one of two pieces âThe Early Showâ did that day on the story.
The program followed up with a segment Saturday exploring why powerful men risk it all for sex.
National correspondent Jeff Glor did a three-minute piece about the alleged extortion plot for âCBS Evening Newsâ on Friday, reporting that Halderman had a relationship with a woman who worked for Letterman.
âWeâre following the story as aggressively as we cover any story of this kind, trying to learn what we can and get the critical interviews,â said executive producer Rick Kaplan. âItâs of no matter that CBS has so many connections to the main people in this story, and it has no impact on what we are doing.â
Meanwhile, in a round of interviews on the network morning shows, Halderman attorney Gerald Shargel said that the CBS producer did not have criminal intent when he took a $2-million check from Lettermanâs attorney.
Shargel declined to provide details, but accused Letterman of holding back facts about the case.
âHeâs a master at manipulating audiences, thatâs what he does for a living,â Shargel told NBCâs Ann Curry. âSo to think that David Letterman gave the entire story, and thereâs nothing more to be said, is simply wrong.â
In an interview Sunday with Fox Newsâ Geraldo Rivera, Shargel indicated he planned to bring out details of Lettermanâs relationships. âSomebody did someone wrong . . . other than my client,â he said, adding: âItâs not only a question of having sexual affairs . . . thatâs not the issue. I think the larger issue at the trial will be, who did he have the affair with.â
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