THE ISSUE: David Letterman’s on-air admission to having had sexual affairs with staff members.
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David Letterman made the only sensible move, despite the ensuing bad publicity, when he refused to pay the blackmailer $2 million and turned the case over to the authorities (“I Had Sex With Staff,” Oct. 2).
The history of blackmail is replete with efforts to extract money after the first and supposedly last payment is made.
It’s better to stop the blackmail at the beginning than to live in fear indefinitely.
Nelson Marans
Silver Spring, Md.
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Why am I not surprised? Letterman, in insulting Sarah Palin and her daughter, displayed deviant behavior. Now I question whether his own staff was a target in a more serious way.
Hopefully CBS will spare us from any more of this far-from-funny circus.
Gene Sullivan
Manhattan
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Letterman had consensual sex with staff workers. Nowhere in the world is this a crime.
Maybe this is something that Letterman wishes he had not done. If so, all that does is put him in the same boat with all of us who have done something we wish we had not.
I hope the DA nails the alleged extortionist to the wall. Then Letterman can get back to being the funny man we all know and love.
Who cares about the past?
Tom Cahill
Manhattan
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The whole Letterman thing is disgusting. He is a pig who got caught, and then he blabs to the whole world like we care.
He should have quietly gone to the DA. Does he really think we care?
I am angry that you put this on the front page of my favorite paper. Please stop giving these people attention they don’t deserve.
JL Brooks
Staten Island
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Letterman suffers from the sins of his own abuse of power.
The hypocrite comic who jokes about others’ sexually illicit behavior isn’t laughing now that the joke is on him.
Letterman sometimes leans back and lets his lazy sex jokes carry the load. Now he has new material — his own.
Alas, Letterman may get high ratings from the scandal.
Letterman’s show surpassed his competition last week with President Obama and Bill Clinton as guests, and ended the week with a bang of a punch line.
Susan Davniero
Lindenhurst
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Is Letterman a hero for admitting that he is a dog just so that he didn’t have to shell out extortion money?
I am sure that this is not news to his wife, but this is not what I call a great bit of history for his son.
We live in such a twisted society. We laud fidelity and marriage as the norm, yet we revert to animal behavior.
Deborah Fleming
Lavallette, NJ
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Letterman’s holier-than-thou attitude has come back to bite him in the rear.
How does it feel, Mr. Big Mouth?
Jose Couselo
Cathedral City, Calif.
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Sadly, the feminist movement has lost its validity and credibility. Where is the outcry?
Can anyone believe that Letterman’s exceptional good looks, physical attributes or sex appeal induced the young ladies who work for him to have sexual relations with him?
After all, he doesn’t remind us of Clark Gable, does he?
John A. Astorina
Manhattan
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No one is morally perfect, and Letterman did not deserve to be the subject of a criminal extortion attempt.
But when an extremely prominent individual adheres to the 1960’s mantra of “if it feels good, do it,” as Letterman did, what did he expect?
Like so many other fallen giants who thought only of their basic urges, including former President Bill Clinton, he has received his comeuppance.
Oren M. Spiegler
Upper Saint Clair, Pa.
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I bet Letterman supports Roman Polanski.
After all, they have the same values, or lack of them.
Gary Schwartz
Fort Lee, NJ