David Letterman revealed his $2 million blackmail plot against him for various affairs with female employees.
Thursday night talk show host David Letterman admitted to having affairs with female employees and the extortion relating to the affairs that would keep his clean image.
The 62 year old talk show host, who is married with a son, admitted to the adultery actions.
The man that held the blackmail of knowing of these affairs is a veteran producer of the show 48 hours; Joe Halderman who was arrested yesterday on the accounts of attempted grand larceny first degree.
Letterman stated that he had gone to his car one morning and discovered a package that contained proof of his little affairs with the women. He had tried to arrange meetings with the man behind the extortion.
Halderman threatened Letterman with writing a book and screenplay on him and his doings unless he gave him $2 million.
Lisa Bloom, legal analyst for CBS News had stated that she thinks Letterman had to take the route he did. “Once this matter went in front of a grand jury there are at least a dozen citizens who are getting wind of the allegations. Once it’s in the district attorney’s hands, there’s always the possibility of leaks. So, he had to get out there first. He had to tell the story. He had to acknowledge his part in it.”
A few fans of Letterman’s talk show had mentioned that they hold nothing against him for his actions, because they love his show.
Letterman’s Late Night Mixed Blessings
It has been a year of mixed blessings for David Letterman. The good news is that for the first time in years, “The Late Show” has managed to edge out the competition for the top spot in late night TV. The bad news, however, is that this surge in popularity has come with an unusual amount of ugly controversy for the late night host.
The first major flap involved a joke about one of former governor Sarah Palin’s daughters. The sketchy joke drew much criticism, leading to multiple on air apologies of varying sincerity. Though that hubbub has died down, Letterman announced a more recent kerfuffle that is far more personal.
According to “The Late Show” host, he was the victim of an extortion plot, which stemmed from a number of affairs Letterman admits to engaging in with various Late Show staff. Refusing to give in to the demands, Letterman instead worked with the district attorney’s office to trap the perpetrator of the crime. Letterman recently gave a testimony to the grand jury in regards to the case.
Letterman came clean about the entire episode on air this week, confessing both to the affairs as well as to his role in bringing the suspect to justice. CBS later confirmed that the accused perpetrator was an employee of the network who worked for “48 Hours,” and who has since been suspended. Some sources within the network have suggested that the accused is Robert Halderman, an award winning director for “48 Hours.”