And this: Letterman Blackmailed For Revenge? Diary Tells All
… for the recap.
It's some heavy dope, mang. We'll probably never know the full extent of what went on because Letterman is such a private dude, but we can likely assume that a few of these allegations are factual and actual. And guess what? I'm really having a hard time seeing the overwhelming wrong in all of this.
Dave Letterman has been with Regina Lasko since 1986, it's
said. Given his penchant for privacy, we really only know that the
couple has a 6-year-old son and have been legally wed since March
of 2009. I was sort of hoping that it would be revealed that his
extracurriculars ended after his heart surgery in early 2000* or at
least the birth of his little man in 2003. At least he said he was
sorry, right?
What I do know is, that while I don't condone cheating, as Chris Rock says, "I understand." The Letterman romance situation is/was a veritable perfect storm of opportunity (in no particular order):
1) Dave's company, Worldwide Pants, produces the Late Show, not CBS. Their HR policies are likely to be more liberal than the network's, per Examiner.
2) Dave was unmarried until this year and his home, Connecticut,
does not recognize common law marriage. Maybe their subdued March
wedding was to end certain dalliances.
3) Dave is usually regarded to be a pretty good guy. He's
personable, self-deprecating
and generous (or charitable), which chicks dig. Also, it's been
said that he's discreet and gentlemanly about his pursuits.
4) Late-night television requires long hours and tons of
interaction between team members. They shoot five, one-hour
(44-minute) TV shows in four days. Plus they do this roughly 40
weeks per year. Conventional TV and films are like 9-to-5s by
comparison.
5) The on-site suite. Rumor has it that Letterman has a suite in
the Ed Sullivan Theater in addition to a nice office. "One
thing leading to another" is a lot easier when an option other
than a bathroom stall, a desk or a leather office couch exists.
6) He's a legend. Having someone like Letterman interested in you, even platonically, has to be a huge ego boost for a twentysomething woman in television.
7) Dude is 60+. See #4, comedy is a young person's game.
Being around (and periodically, in) young people is the best way to
stay young (plus exercise and anti-oxidants).
8) It seems like an "understanding" with his wife
could exist. While we'll never know this, it just seems like
you'd have to have some kind of arrangement to date someone for
23 years before getting married. Especially if the last 6 years
involve a kid.
While I'm not saying I condone or agree with anything that
took place at the Ed Sullivan Theater (and beyond), I can see
why and how it went down. And, though I think
quite highly of my moral fiber, I can't say that I wouldn't
do the same thing in the same situation (either as Letterman or a
piece of man candy working for Chelsea Lately). It seems
too easy to cast the first stone when few of us have ever been
tested in the same way. Maybe it's just easy for me to see this
from Letterman's point of view because he looks like my
dad.
Cheers, jeers, bring 'em on.
*Note: I had a good friend who interned for Letterman during the spring semester of 2000, just before and after his bypass surgery, who claims that Letterman was a different guy as a result of the procedure. I was hoping that his brush with mortality was the thing that made him give up the ass-on-the-side. Maybe not.
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