From the Associated Press, via the Sun-Times:
David Letterman apologized to his wife on Monday’s “Late Show,” saying she had been “horribly hurt by my behavior.”
The late-night host vowed to repair his relationship with his wife, Regina Lasko.
“Let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me,” said Letterman, according to an early transcript of the program released by CBS.
Letterman also apologized to his staff. From the New York Times:
The comedian also apologized to the members of his staff saying, “I’m terribly sorry that I put the staff in that position.” He labeled his mistake as inadvertent because “I just wasn’t thinking ahead.” He thanked the staff for being supportive and for “putting up with something stupid I’ve gotten myself involved in.”
Though Mr. Letterman said last Thursday that he hoped not to have to make any further comment on the incident, the details of his relationships, especially with a personal assistant, and his future at CBS, have continued to be the subject of intense scrutiny in the media.
Last week, some of his staff members suggested that Regina Lasko, Mr. Letterman’s wife, might make a statement of support. But that did not take place. Monday night Mr. Letterman said, “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.”
Meanwhile, the lawyer for the man accused of the extortion attempt made a threat to “put forward evidence” that Mr. Letterman had engaged in sexual harassment of his staff members.
Look, I like David Letterman, but the question of sexual harassment is very real and the primary question here, as far as I’m concerned. Unfortunately for the man accused in the alleged extortion attempt, it doesn’t matter if Letterman engaged in sexual harassment. Extortion is a crime. If there was suspicion of sexual harassment, the accused Robert Joel Halderman should have pursued legal avenues to expose the alleged harassment.
It’s too early to tell if Dave gets to keep his job. That’s really up to CBS executives, and I suspect they’ll carefully consider the media perception and ratings.
Well, I know I’ll be watching tonight. That’s enough of a hook to grab my attention.