Love + Sex
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Fearing Letterman-level debacle, Kimmel broadcasts relationship with coworker
editor
Hold on to your hat! Batten
down the hatches! Do whatever will prepare you for this
unbelievably shocking display of...
ordinary life in the
American workplace.
Yes, that's right, yet another late night talk show host is
dating a coworker,
E! Online reports. Apparently, Jimmy Kimmel has been
seeing co-head writer
Molly McNearney for several
months, and while he's unmarried and hasn't, to our
knowledge,
made his office into a secret love lair, that act alone is
enough to warrant the headline "Jimmy Kimmel pulls a
Letterman?!".
Anticipating the worst of
wagging tongues, the Kimmel camp has taken the offense by
pointing out that McNearney's success at her
job--including her promotion to co-head writer over a year ago--has
nothing to do with her relationship to the boss, who was dating
comedian Sarah Silverman at the
time.
Has it gotten to the
point where any mention of sex in the workplace immediately strips
the involved parties of their credibility and talent—not to
mention their right to privacy? Judgment calls are being made
left and right, but we think there's a good portion of actual
working people in the world who are smarter than this level of
conversation.
Here's a simple fact: People who work together occasionally
sleep together. This happens in all sorts of ways — from smart,
conscientious, consenting adults ending up in the fevered throes of
passion, to smarmy, manipulative bosses demanding sexual favors
from underlings. While there is no defending the latter, there is a
big difference between sexual harassment and sex in the workplace.
There's also a big difference between sleeping your way to the
top and sleeping with the person at the top. The difference lies in
the intention of the adults committing the act. To pretend that
every sexual encounter that takes place between coworkers is
automatically a scandal really undermines personal responsibility
and plain common sense.
Now, can someone please write a good article with a
double-punctuated headline about that?!
Related: workplace, sexual harassment, sex in the workplace, office romance, jimmy kimmel
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Posted by springtime Mon Oct 12, 2009 4:58pm PDT
Oh,please. In regard to Letterman. CBS has a sexual harrassment policy in place. No woman has come forward with a complaint, so there is nothing to pursue. Letterman is married. Did he over step his bounds? Probably, but that is between Dave and his wife. He has broken no laws. Kimmel is very single. So he is dating/ sleeping with a willing partner. Good for Jimmy and his girlfriend. Has he harrassed her? Doesn't appear to be so. Two co workers find themselves attracted to each other. So what? Happens every day.
All of this is just ridiculous.
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Posted by Doktor Eevol Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:55pm PDT
Consensual sex, even with the best of intentions, can create a negative environment in the workplace. If not for the people who are sleeping with each other, but for the people around them who have to deal with the complexities of their relationship in what should be a professional environment. I mean, who actually WANTS to deal with bad moods when the boss and a coworker are having a lover's spat? How hard is this to understand?
Why are people in such a rush to normalize this behavior? Why is this behavior encouraged to be accepted, or even more alarmingly, expected? Nevermind that these television personalities have enough fame and fortune to date within their own peer group - why, they're "entitled!" to pick and choose from their subordinates like they are cattle. And according to this blog post, anyone who has a problem with it, especially a woman, is just being a naive prude.
Well I disagree. In fact, I think it's this very attitude that keep sexual harassment underreported in America today. Rape goes unreported for the same reason - people keep blurring the boundaries of bad behavior and intentions. And how many stories of rape or workplace sexual harassment have we seen where the man swore up and down it was totally consensual, and it's just the woman's faulty interpretation that she's accusing him of raping her? That HIS behavior had nothing to do with it? Even blood and lacerations have been explained away in court. So excuse me if I don't have faith that a sexual harassment case will be taken seriously if people continue to imply that intentions are everything.
Jesus Christ. Some behavior is just inappropriate, period. No matter how you slice it, paint it and put pretty ribbons on it, there's some stuff you just shouldn't bring to the office. Even if you are rich, famous, and well loved by audiences everywhere.
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Posted by Mira Jacob, Shine staff Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:38pm PDT
Doktor Eevol, you really thought this post was about condoning sexual harassment and rape? Really? Because I think you make a great point about sexual harassment being under-reported in the workplace and I also think that having an adult understanding about what consenting people do with their bodies is NOT the cause of it. By your logic, anyone who dates outside their "peer group" is in danger of committing sexual harassment. I don't buy it.
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Posted by Kathy Tue Oct 13, 2009 11:59pm PDT
I think it's their personal business if they want to have affairs and it's really not for the public to judge them.
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Posted by February Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:12am PDT
If he's not married, still single then Kimmel has the right to sleep with whoever he wants as long as the girl wants it to.
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Posted by Iamhome Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:49am PDT
WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? I know a lot of companies have policies in place, however I think it's wrong. First off, people spend the majority of their lives in their workplace, for a single person you're bound to meet someone. Look at Jim and Pam from the "Office" TV show!
My former boss married a coworker, so it can turn out to be well. My work place at the time never had a problem with it! It was private between them both. As long as the two people can remain professional at work it's fine. If things don't turn out well, then they should both agree to keep it professional whenever they see each other at work. I would think adults could act civil, especially at a place of business. As far as the employer, I think they should allow it and if they want to cover themselves...have the employees sign an agreement that they will act professionally toward those they are dating or after the dating has been terminated.
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Posted by Mark B Wed Oct 14, 2009 3:52pm PDT
If you're a senior executive male in the workplace, then you should avoid relationships with women there. Too easy a target for a lawsuit.
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Posted by another hockey fan Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:18am PDT
While we can argue how immoral, unacceptable, etc this may be, the fact remains that it happens, has been happening and will continue to happen where men and women work together. Therefore, as long as the two adults (married or not) are mutually content with being involved (and aware that they WILL be eventually exposed, possibly fired, ridiculed by co-workers, reprimanded or otherwise) than that's their business.
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