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Earlier this evening, David Letterman told his talk show audience that he was the victim of a $2 million extortion attempt—and that he had sexual relationships with staffers. He said (the show airs at 11:35 p.m. on WCBS 2), "This morning, I did something I've never done in my life. I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury." [Update: Here's video]
According to the Daily News, "The 'Late Show' host received a package from an individual who claimed to have information on his dalliances and said he would be outed unless he came up with $2 million." Letterman went to the Manhattan's DA office, which "instructed Letterman to mail a phony $2 million check to the individual, which led to the extortionist's arrest on Thursday."
Letterman said of the affairs with staffers, "My response to that is, yes I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would. I feel like I need to protect these people -- I need to certainly protect my family."
The News spoke to Letterman's mom, Dorothy Mengering, who said, "I knew he was being blackmailed and that someone was arrested today. So far that's all I know. I'm looking forward to seeing the show tonight to see what he has to say." She added that she heard about the extortion attempt from Letterman's wife of 7 months, Regina Lasko (she and Letterman had "been together" since 1986 and have a 5-year-old son).
UPDATE: According to TMZ, the identity of the arrestee "is Robert Halderman. He's 51 years old and lives in Norwalk, CT.... He is an employee of '48 Hours' and has been suspended pending results of the investigation." Radar Online, which calls him a "former producer," says he lived with one of the women that Letterman was involved with. Plus: "Sources tell RadarOnline.com that Dave’s sexual relationships happened before the marriage, but during his relationship with Lasko. His relationship with the woman connected to the extortionist has apparently been over for a long time."
UPDATE 11:56 p.m.: Watching Letterman discuss the extortion on the show and it's pretty creepy (though Letterman sets it up with some humor): Apparently he found a package in his car at 6 a.m. from a man who says that he knows the horrible things that Letterman has done—and with apparently evidence of these horrible things.
Letterman launches in a description of how the guy wanted to write a screenplay using details of these things and wanted some money for it, how he contacted his lawyer who set up a meeting with the extortionist, and then how the Manhattan DA's office said it was blackmail and told Letterman to set up the sting. When Letterman mentions the $2 million amount, the audience gasps.
All along the audience is laughing throughout Letterman's description, but doesn't know why Letterman is being shaken down. He then says, "The creepy stuff is that I have had sex with women who work for me on the show"—silence—"...My response to that is, yes I have." Cue laughter! "Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would... especially for the women. But that's a decision for them to make if they want to come public with the relationships..." After thanking the Manhattan DA's office, Letterman said, "I feel like I need to protect these people -- I need to certainly protect my family... I hope to protect my job... I don't plan to say much more about this particular topic so thank you for letting me bend your ear."
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I'd be boinking all the staff hotties too if I were him.
Hell I do a fair amount of damage and I'm not rich or famous.
...or a gentleman.
EWWWW
I lost all respect for him post 9/11, but then same with dennis miller and others.
he had a great companion in merrill markoe, he used to bring her on and show vacation pictures, only he's blurred in the photos.
What happened post 9/11?
that last update was all I needed to know.
anyway, since you asked, after 9/11 he went all rah rah rah USA and from that update still is doing it.
but hey, he's rich as all ef and I'm not so he could give two craps bout what I think.
Um, I think Everyone went "Rah, Rah, Rah, USA!" after 9/11...
"I need to certainly protect my family."
How come all these morons, after screwing around and getting caught, come out and say that they got to protect their families? Wouldn't they have achieved that by not screwing around?
Although, frankly, Letterman's family consists of a hired breeder that probably blackmailed him into marrying her after being hidden from sight for years.
Why do we always assume that the wife didn't know or disapproved? It's possible she knew and even approved. Maybe even encouraged it. Maybe they're big-time swingers. Hey, it takes different strokes to move the world.
Then along come two, they got nothin' but their dreams.
Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum.
What might be right for you may not be right for some.
Diffrn't strokes, as said best. Move on, folks, and let's watch some TV. There are a lot more things that are truly no one else's business.
Last line of the article: Wow, you can't even spell Manhattan?
"Manhatten"?
Fixed—I had copied and pasted from TMZ.
You guys don't post THAT many articles each day. Would it really fucking kill you to take 30 seconds to re-read what you want to post before you submit it? What do you and Jake do up there all day anyway?
We wait for the complaints from readers. It's a full-time job.
dear mr. technical editor,
Who cares?
It's more irritating for someone to out every little typo or misspelling. Especially when it apparent you're getting pissed off about it.
Wait... you copied and pasted it from TMZ? What's the point of this site then?
Plus, isn't that just plain plagiarism? Did you even cite your source? I see TMZ mentioned once, but that's it. Granted, you're copying a quote, but don't you have to cite that?
I guess I'm surprised this site has yet to be sued for "copying" content.
The extortionist made the mistake of assuming that Dave's wife would actually
give a shit. When you're making tens of millions a year, that's not always the case.
Have fun in jail, loser!
Also they have only been actually married for 7 months.
'Being together' and exchanging vows are not the same.
Do you really think she couldn't spell Manhattan? Jesus Christ...you are awful.
just watched letterman's admission live... omg weirdest 10 minutes in TV history?
SOOO bizarre how the audience kept laughing (because they didn't know why he was being extorted!). Can't tell if the way Letterman set it up was brilliant.
Yes, the set up was brilliant. Cool under pressure.
Weirdest? Really?
no, not really
My "comment has been received and held for approval for the blog owner" Am I on probabtion, Gothamist? If I'm on probabtion babyhitler is totally going down with me.
this is is the grease that revolves the world on it's axle. do you think letterman's wife gives a fuck? she married him for his money just like the interns he was banging on the side. who cares if it's unethical that he used his executive privileges to intimidate the women into suckling on his old gray pube tapioca factory? The thin red line between sexual harassment and office romance is the green wad of cash under their pillows.
You ASSume a lot. How do you know what Letterman's wife thinks? As far as marrying him for money, there may have been a prenuptial which would limit her access to his millions. And what makes you think he was just banging interns?
What is amazing was that he wasn't sued for sexual harassment. It almost always creates an ugly situation in an office when the boss abuses his authority by screwing around with the staff (nd he obviously slept with more than one woman). Did these women receive promotions, raises or preferential assignments based on their *special* relationship with the boss? And other people in the office can usually pick up on nuances between the amorous couple which generally fosters an unprofessional and uncomfortable workplace.
Would you want to work in a place like that or would you rather be judged on your ability and performance? Letterman is a jerk.
Thank you for that post.
he's not mr. nice guy. but again, he has the city in his pocket, let's see what the DA says about this tomorrow.
You ASSume people can pick and choose jobs in show business with ease. Most talk shows don't last longer than a carton of milk. Every years hundreds of college graduates come out for just a handful of writing jobs. There isn't much turnover in any studio band. And not too many chances to act in skits on these shows. Unemployment is the norm in show business, not the exception.
There is also the possibility, these "women" enjoyed the man & his company. Don't just ASSume he was taking advantage of people because they worked for him. Small staff, working long hours, i'd say the likelihood of an office romance is about 99.5%
LOL You're right. Maybe it was less the extortion attempt than the amount of the extortion. $2M is a lot of money, even for Letterman.
I really hope that Letterman's career survives this because he has been -- and continues to be -- one of the most original and funny stars of late night television. I really hope no one gives a crap (except prudish Sarah Palin must be thrilled). I think it was a good PR move to be upfront about this and he had guts tonight to create the most awkward 10 minutes of TV ever.
As everyone knows Sarah Palin's teenage daughter got pregnant by a drug dealer's son before finishing high school, it's not likely she has much to say about this.
Nonetheless, she may be privately experiencing schadenfreude.
I love that line. True, true, true!
This is child's play: Larry "Bud" Melman took Letterman's darkest secrets to his grave.
With that and the comment he made about Sarah Palin's daughter Letterman sure has been having a rough couple of months.
Speaking of extortion threats dear Jen; remember that night we did limoncello shots til 4 am and then I took those raunchy pictures of you?
Well if you donn't wanna see 'em splashed all over youtube you better cough-up $3.5 million in small, unmarked bills. Pronto.
It appears you have confused Jen with your mom.
At first I liked the Letterman show when I started to watch it. But after a while I really learned to hate this guy because I realized what a fake, manipulative schlock he is. Letterman is hypocrisy at its best and his sheer backstabbingness reaches far beyond those of his liberal counteracts.
I am especially annoyed by his fake smile, his fake laughter and his creepy behavior where he would be all friendly and charming in front of somebody and then pull his knife out and stab him in the back. You know these small, uncalled for jabs when his true agenda is clear all the time. Letterman is a very insincere person who most of the times is either too afraid to tell his real opinion or is hiding behind the bushes intentionally.
Also on the occasion when he speaks his mind he always tries to seem smarter then he really is. He likes to talk in a very slow and choppy manner to give his words more weight, saying only things that have been stated before and, expects applause afterwards for his cleverness and most of the times he gets it from his bootlicking audience.
Another point, his stupid audience who applauds EVERYTHING does not realize that they are as dumb as the people they are hollering against. To Letterman's credit I heard that he actually sees this the same way and heavily dislikes his audience for that. But of course he is too cowardish to call them out for it or do something else against it because they pay for his show and lifestyle. Mindless hollering is just a very American thing I guess.
And so is putting yourself down as a host it seems. Half of his humor consists of jokes about how small, weak, dumb, poor, powerless or whatever Letterman is. Again, a very popular, almost necessary quality in the American culture it seems. But this makes him even more fake. Letterman is a millionaire and every time he tries to equal himself with his audience he's a hypocrite. And these people are buying it.
Nowadays his show consists of making fun of Sarah Palin and her family and trying as hard as he can to push Barack Obama. And the audience? Claps and hollers. Yes, they are just the same idiots at the other end of the scale.
What first seemed like a smart and educated show and a smart and educated (and funny) host now turned out to be the same kind of trite and dishonest collection of media bullshit. Letterman is a phony who's living off his fake image of areal man of the people while he is just a calculating pompous Ahole, sitting in his comfortable little chair and pointing and giggling at the things around him.
For those of you who praise him___you deserve him!
I sense a LOT of displaced anger.... and way too much free time to write such a long manifesto on your hatred of Letterman. Go do the Time Warp.
Really. Next time you post something don't forget to slap two covers on it and hold a book signing!
Jeesh.
And, that goes for you also!
If you don't like it - don't read it!
tl;dr.
I'm sorry he was mean to Paris Hilton -- that must have been very upsetting for you. Next time, instead of writing about it here, why don't you print it out and leave it on the front seat of his car at 6am.
So what's your point?
Speaking of Letterman, what's the update on the assbomb situation?
Dave is such a fucking hypocrite at times it's nauseating. I'm surprised he didn't sign the 'free roman' petition.
He was always funnier than Leno, his 1st post Sept 11th show is classic, and then he slowly but surely jumped the shark. I'm not so sure he's been playing dumb all these years.
Man is everyone in this thread an expert on david letterman?
Everyone on this site is an expert on everything.
I actually can't believe anyone still watches Letterman. I think the last time I watch this pile of crap was 1989.
1991 for me. He's just a tired old couch blocking the door for everyone else.