David Letterman publicly apologized to his wife Regina Lasko during the taping of tonight’s Late Show. He also apologizes to his staff for all the scrutiny the show has received since he admitted to having sex with staff members. “I’m terribly sorry that I put the staff in that position. Inadvertently, I just wasn’t thinking ahead,” says Letterman, according to the show’s transcript released by his spokesman this afternoon. “And moreover, the staff here has been wonderfully supportive to me, not just through this furor, but through all the years that we’ve been on television and especially all the years here at CBS. So again, my thanks to the staff for, once again, putting up with something stupid I’ve gotten myself involved in.”
As for his wife, Regina, Letterman says, “she has been horribly hurt by my behavior, and when something happens like that, if you hurt a person and it’s your responsibility, you try to fix it. And at that point, there’s only two things that can happen: either you’re going to make some progress and get it fixed, or you’re going to fall short and perhaps not get it fixed, so let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me.”
The show’s guests Steve Martin and Martin Short also apparently joked with Letterman about the news. CBS released the following clip of tonight’s monologue:
Hang in there Dave. When you’re not married you can have sex with anyone you wish. The critics are doing it too, married or not. It’s like the pot calling the kettle black. I think you did the right thing by admitting it, but what’s the big deal? I think the other guy is a nut case. You’re one of the good guys….
You realize that he has kids, so his actions don’t just affect him and his wife. So, even if everyone in the world is cheating, it is still a “big deal”. I feel terrible for his children who have to hear about this everywhere they go.
That being said, I’m not going to stop watching because of this. If I stopped watching a show everytime a celebrity on it was involved in a scandal…there wouldn’t be any shows left.
Letterman has 1 child, a 5-year-old named Harry. I doubt if his friends in kindergarden are talking about this.
it is wrong no matter how you look at it period
He made poor choices. They weren’t criminal choices. Someone tried to exploit him. Yes, it’s a big deal, and as he himself has said, he has his work cut out for himself trying to repair the hurt he’s caused his loved ones. I applaud him for how he handled his would-be extortionist. This is a valuable lesson on behaving with strength, humility and dignity that he’s teaching his son. Instead of trying to hide and protect his reputation, he’s facing the fire and turned in a criminal, as is right and proper.
Many, many people are in long-term, committed relationships without being married. Cheating on someone you are with, married or not, is wrong.
Just because he is funny and hosts a funny show doesn’t make him a “good guy”.
I agree…i dont get what he thinks is so funny about it…he needs to shut up and ask for forgiveness … i had a lot of respect for him and now…im not to sure…
DL monologues for years has been fun and jokes about everyone….now thats its on him he gets serious and wants to say he’s sorry…this will not blow oveR FOR DL
Except that he is not going easy on himself either.
yeah, poor dave (sarcasm very much intended). childish, selfish actions lead to trouble. he only has one person to blame and thats himself. he brought pain and embarassment to his wife, kids and coworkers. the guy is funny and his show has nothing to do w. his personal life. however, im not going to feel sorry for the idiot or be quick to give him a pat on the back. puhhhleeze
David Letterman’s not perfect and he never claimed to be. This country is so hypocritical when it comes to adultery. I can’t say that I admire the fact that he cheated on his girlfriend, or that he probably didn’t marry her because he liked having flings with his employees. But as long as he’s still funny, I’ll keep watching. Let’s hope he can just go back to doing his job, being an amusing, sarcastic, old curmudgeon.
here here!
I think that cheating on and hurting someone you love ( someone who also loves you) is just about the worst thing that you can do in life. So, I think it’s ridiculous that people are writing this off as “no big deal”. I personally don’t base my decisions about what to watch on peoples’ personal lives. So, I’ll continue to watch, but I respect those who don’t want to watch anymore.
i think the point is, it’s no big deal to us – you, me and the other people who don’t decide what to watch based on something personal – it is quite clearly a very big deal to Dave and his family. Had Dave lied about this, tried to cover it up or blow it off and acted like it was no big deal to him – that would be different.
We all have our own moral standards that we live by. To me, while his moral transgression (IMO) is nothing to be admired I would rank it far below more serious transgressions that actually violate individual rights. Here I am talking about things such murder, assault, rape, arson, theft, extortion, fraud, etc. While most would agree that Letterman’s actions should not be condoned, it seems the vociferous bleating that is going on by a lot of people is out of proportion with the severity of the “offense”.
I agree. The punishment should fit the crime.
I have zero respect for anyone that stops watching Letterman based on this scandal. If they want to add this to a list of reasons they don’t like him, so what. But to reject him? Ridiculous. Someone tried to illegally profit from his personal behavior. He is responsible to his family for his infidelity, not the general public.
I applaud him for admitting his indiscretions from the get-go, instead of denying and lying, behavior we see so many public figures attempt in a variety of indiscretions.
Sure adultery is bad enough, but when most people in the industry are doing it, Letterman’s pretty innocent. Overall, he had poor taste in his decision but people shouldn’t be making a big deal about something inappropriate.
And to do “it” with Stephanie Birkitt, who truly serves no piurpose in life whatsoever makes it shameful and that more lewd, but now he has a lot of work to do to repair his marriage from here on out. I don’t think his wife will ever trust him again. Karma is coming back to bite him in the ass and I bet Sarah Palin is loving this.
I doubt if Stephanie had anything to do with this, at least intentionally. And I don’t give a rat’s a$$ what Sarah Pa(l)in in the butt finds funny.
Wow. I’ll bet Stephanie Birkitt serves more purpose in life than you.
Why do we care about this? Everybody mind their own business. Who cares about who is sleeping with who. Ad if anyone on this forum is saints. I’m sure most of, if not, all of you have had dirty meaningless sex and adultery at some point in your life. So stop turning celebs into scapegoats for your own personal demons.
Yawn…Total ratings gimmick from the moment he opened his mouth about the whole ordeal.
You are REALLY stupid.
Why is it any more shameful to “do it” with Stephanie Birkitt than any other member of his staff. Why do you take jabs at someone you don’t even know? And someone who would laugh at a person in Dave’s situation really isn’t a decent human being in my opinion. Everyone’s human, we all make mistakes, some of us just tend to forget that fact while we’re judging other people.
I love the guy. Hang in there, Dave.
Look, cheating on your wife/girlfriend/mother of her child is wrong. Period.
But this was a private issue. It only became public because of the extortion attempt, and kudos to Letterman for standing up to the blackmailer and taking away his power.
At the end of the day, it’s up to his wife, and anyone else who’s been directly hurt by this, to forgive him. As viewers, it’s really not our business at all. Watch, don’t watch, be offended, don’t be offended….this doesn’t affect our lives at all, so we should just respect the privacy of those who have been affected.
Well said!
I love Dave. I wish I could have been one of his interns
really. I do feel for his wife. I don’t know if I could stay married. She must be so hurt. But he is awesome and I think he is doing the right thing. He has my love and support. He is handling this with honor and grace. You Go Dave!!!!
I fell sorry for Dave’s wife. But whatever happens to that marriage is their business. The thing that matters to the outside world is the criminal activity of the guy who was arrested.
I am sure that Dave’s wife is a fine person, but I really don’t think that he would have married again if it had not been for the child. Dave has always been a confirmed bachelor since he started his show and I never got the impression that he was really with only one person, even when he lived with somebody. His morality is his own–he doesn’t owe me an explanation. If his wife didn’t know these things about him, I don’t think she was looking very carefully. But he is an adult and he is apparently the victim of a crime, not the accused.
His wife used to be on staff, as was his previous longtime girlfriend. I agree that it’s his personal business, though when you’re the boss, sleeping with staff is unacceptable in most workplaces.
Someone who repeatedly screws over the one they’re supposed to be closest to can’t be trusted by anybody- people involved in business with him should take note. Does he think his stupid little apology is anything at all?
Amen.
Hopefully, Letterman has learned to keep it in his Worldwide Pants on the job.
That is soooo original … NOT.