David Letterman Comes Clean on National TV

I know that there will be many out there who will criticize harshly the public confession to a myriad of affairs that David Letterman has made, however, I believe he did the right thing.

First of all, as we all well know, with celebrity comes “high risk” for sexual dalliances.  Affairs are an individual choice, and based on each individual’s moral compass.

I felt that Mr. Letterman’s public confession was laced with humor and humility in order to preemptively diffuse a volatile situation.  Coming straight out and admitting what he has done was the best way to make an ugly situation less venomous.

He may or may not lose his show, that will be up to his network executives, but consider, we did not impeach Bill Clinton for his adulterous behavior, why should a talk show host be held to a higher standard than the President of the United States?

It’s hard for some people to refrain from casting judgement on a man who openly admits to having affairs with staff members, but honestly, if the affairs were mutually consensual, who really cares except for the parties involved?  It is up to Mrs. Letterman to decide as to whether or not she can forgive her husband, whether or not she wishes to continue her marriage, and the public should respect that.

The paramours that Mr. Letterman cavorted with will also have a choice, as he publicly stated.  They will need to choose as to whether or not they wish to share their experiences with the general public or not.  Money will be flying at them with offers for interviews and books and such I am sure.  Each that has had an actual experience with David Letterman will be making that choice on their own, there is nothing that Mr. Letterman can do to stop that as it is a part of their own life story, and they own it.

I personally am glad that the extortionist who wanted to steal someone else’s life experience and make a fortune from it has been stopped in his tracks.  Now that Mr. Letterman has “stolen his thunder” he will be viewed as little more than a stalker, a voyeur into so many other people’s lives.

Affairs happen every day at every socio-economic level.  Some are more interesting than others because they involve public figures and thus draw us much as moths to a flame.  I am sure in the upcoming weeks the headlines will be full of “Shocking Details About David Letterman’s Affairs“, and he seems to be psychologically preparing for it as best he can.

I can only state that I feel that Mr. Letterman took the high road in sharing his personal humiliation with his audience, and that he did so with a sense of humor and humility, as he refers to his own “creepy” behavior.

Celebrity or not, he is only human after all.

Copyright © 2009 Brigid Bishop

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