Pop Culture Curmudgeon david letterman » Pop Culture Curmudgeon

Posts tagged: david letterman

Does David Letterman’s Sex Life Matter? Not to Me.

On last night’s Late Show, David Letterman spoke of an extortion threat he had received and the sexual relations he had with female staffers.

This morning, the news and entertainment media were abuzz at the thought that Letterman had been promiscuous. Taylor, Victoria, and Kenny on Cosmo Radio’s morning show were particularly upset. Taylor, in fact, said she felt she could no longer trust her “Will he cheat?” meter if even Letterman was a cheater.

My first reaction was, “Isn’t that why men get into show business in the first place? So they can bang a lot of women?” Maybe I’m overly crass and cynical, but I don’t care if Letterman had sex with women, as long as the sex was consensual and the women were adults. It is not nice that he cheated on his long-time girlfriend (who is now his wife), but it doesn’t make him less funny as a comedian or talk show host. As long as he did nothing criminal in these liaisons, it’s a personal matter between him and his wife and the other women. It’s not my business or anyone else’s.

Separate the art and the artist, people.

After my diatribes about special treatment for celebrities, you might be asking if I’m showing a bit of hypocrisy here. I don’t think so. The people I railed against committed crimes—they were either convicted or pleaded guilty to those crimes, so it is a legal fact.

If we find out that Letterman’s sexual activities were less than legal, I will have to change my tune. I believe strongly that people who commit crimes need to serve their time. I believe that people who commit such crimes as rape, murder (or vehicular manslaughter, if you prefer), and torture of people or animals should not continue to serve as role models in the athletic or artistic arenas as if nothing ever happened. I don’t believe that their personal actions take away from their artistic or athletic ability—although I may be a little irrational in my desire that these people no longer continue to collect million-dollar paychecks and serve no jail time.

I liken David Letterman’s sexual misconduct to that of Bill Clinton. It was a stupid choice on his part. It wouldn’t make me want him as my life partner. But it doesn’t have any effect on his ability to do his job.