Paul's "oh no" was so sincere...He figured out this wasn't a bit way before the audience. I have never seen someone take the power away from someone like this. This an extremely unique moment in tv.
I would be very surprised if Dave didn't give his staff a heads-up that this was coming. I'm sure it wasn't a surprise to Paul. But I'd love to know what Dave was thinking when the audience continued to laugh about it. I actually laughed at home when he said, "Yes, I have" because duh... both his wife Regina & ex Merrill were his co-workers. I thought he was referring to them at the time.
They're just doing their jobs, and Dave knows it but he's uncomfortable because they're laughing at a serious topic and he's not the only one affected by it.
So what do you think he should get? I mean, women who have an extra marital relationship with men usually get to destroy their families, alimony, victimization, the house, the car, the children and condolences...
I remember hearing this on the radio when commuting to college. This was discussed maybe for a week and then everyone stopped caring and moved on. Why? Because he owned it. That's all you have to do. I like how he handled it. He did not try to side-step or anything.
I know you posted your comment a long while ago but you (and he, for that matter) could not have used better words - for a celebrity of his caliber to come out, so very eloquently, and admit on public television that he was unfaithful to his wife took tremendous courage - somewhat self-serving - but courageous nonetheless
I don’t buy it. His entire tone, body language, and how often he cracked jokes shows he didn’t really care. He’s legit cracking jokes about cheating on his wife after he admitted it hurt her... didn’t even apologize bro lol
@@rkoistheman You care about Dave's wife because? Oh right, you must be a close friend of him and that's why his mistake changed how you view it, right? Otherwise it'd make no sense to care abou this
maybe this is where woody first got the idea to cheat on his wife - in a threesome with a paparazzi, no less. maybe thought "hey i can do it and get some applause and laughs too!"
Man... that crowd went through the whole thing thinking 'ah this is probably a bit' combined with 'this is a hilarious man who says hilarious things and therefore we must laugh at all he says'... they had no idea how to react.
@@Onigirli Not fair and not good advice. Nobody should have "carte blanch" to harm others. And far too many innocents make the mistake of apologizing, which often results in ruined reputations.
I was in the audience at a Letterman show once. They tell you a thousand times before you go in to laugh out loud at every joke. People are so grilled to laugh that they start bursting out laughing everytime there is a pause. I doubt this audience knew what to do nor were they expecting such a serious announcement.
Dave's just naturally funny in his delivery since he's been doing it for so many years. Him saying "all the creepy things I had done" made me chuckle too.
Pleistocene The audience comes off as insane during this. It's really a matter of context, though. When you tell someone that a person is a comedian, their expectation that the person is funny really does most of the work for the comedian. If people are in a mood to laugh, they will laugh. For most of the story they didn't know it was a serious thing that Dave was confessing and by the time it happened I think they didn't know how to process what just happened. But, yeah, they come off as obtuse and insane.
@@JazGalaxy It's like you say. The fact that his delivery is masterful and full of quips right up to the serious point also sets the tone for the audience, and like you say, his actual reveal is met by probably shock and confusion by an audience that doesn't know how to react.
5:22 - I love this moment when Dave tells the audience how much the blackmailer wanted, $2 million - Dave's reaction to the audience shocked reaction is brilliant "was that the foreigners?" - as most Americans would think Dave got a cheap deal, as most blackmailers would ask for a lot more. A lot of foreigners come to see Dave's show.
Obviously but i dont care if a talkshoe host is cheating on his wife im not his wife, his friend, or his family im a viewer snd this does not matter to me
they were laughing because 1 they prob didn't expect it to be serious...and 2 he has this deadpan humor ALLLLL the time, everything he says always sounds as if he serious when hes talks BUT its funny
That's kind of how he'd need it to go, as well. It seems like he's handled this in the best way possible with this response (and he delivers it incredibly well in what must be very very hard to say in front of an audience and the nation, when he drops the bomb). I always liked Letterman but this has really impressed me. I only learnt about this today through stories on Jeff Bezos' stand against AMI's blackmailing practices, glad I saw this!
A Man can make a mistake,he can become attracted to a colleague,infatuated even, It can happen,but there was more than one or two women involved with Dave.If he was married to my sister,I would want to stick his head down a dirty toilet bowl. I have wondered,what if that despicable Blackmailer had asked for $20,000,what would Dave have done? Letterman was a super talk show host,but he betrayed his wife,his family more than once.
No not really. He clearly should of opened with a statement saying this is not a joke in anyway. The audience was laughing over and over. At no time did he mention this is serious . He knew if he said it the blackmailer would stop, but he clearly played up to the audience laughing so he could downplay It
@@blockchainshark1392 There is not much different he could do regarding the audience even if he would try his best. They are there to laugh. Most of them will take whatever he says as to be something more or less funny
@@blockchainshark1392 I don't think you understand the job of a late night host. His job is to entertain people. Ofc he peppered in jokes in a 9 min monolouge. Why would he tell people not to laugh when that's the entire point? He's try to keep them entertained while also explaining what happened, otherwise it would drag down the entire mood of the show. You can approach serious topics with some degree of levity without it being "downplayed." The two aren't mutually exclusive
This reminds me of when Jerry Seinfeld, as Dave's guest, brought out Kramer after the whole racial episode that blew up on TMZ. Kramer came out and sat down and was visibly upset, and the first reaction of the audience was to start laughing, because they thought it was a sketch, and Seinfeld said, "Don't laugh, don't laugh."
oh shut up for gods sake, people are grown adults and when you spend 8to12 hours a day with people relationships can happen. i flirted with my manager, just because its fun and i ended up having 9 year relationship and moving in together. women dont have affairs and keep their mouths shut about them if they dont feel it was a totally mutual relationship.
Well, now that you're talking about abusing power, do you know what's really awful? That when women have an extra marital relationship, they completely destroy their families, they get alimony, they're awarded with the victim status, they get the house, the car, the children and the condolences and sympathies from friends and relatives because her bastard husband left her all alone while he was out working for her...
@@elputas Uh, not cool when the boss wants sex from the subordinates. The subordinates feel obligated to provide sex to the boss out of fear of losing their jobs. Isn't right, my friend.
@@ROZAKRIU yea a real class act fucking young women interns as a dude in a massive position of power, cheating on his wife and family. Super classy. He's a fuckin dirtbag
' _owning up to_ ' *getting caught* , you mean - with his pants down, schlong hanging out, no less. What made it even more unseemly was that he was nightly selling and encouraging others to promote this image of himself as the hapless, somewhat nerdish, clown who never 'got the girl' _meanwhile_ , the creep is backstage porking the crap out of every intern and bitch on his staff who answers to him
this was awesome. finally a public figure who doesn’t try to bullshit their way through a scandal, he was upfront and admitted that he fucked up and he did it on his own.
And nine years ago you hadn’t had to listen to Trump denying demonstrable facts about him for seven years straight, and then trying to sue people for telling the truth (for free!).
Well, in consensual sex among adults, there's nothing for you or me to "condone" or "not condone". It belongs in the realm of the personal and private.
It's amazing how many people seem to feel that it's so "odd" and "disturbing" that the audience kept laughing. They're at a live taping. They're instructed to laugh. Nobody in the audience had any clue how serious the matter was. They were probably expecting it to end with "soooo, long story short, I'll be mowing Paul's front yard for the next year and a half". Or something along those lines. I love the way he presented the matter. Comedically serious and sincere.
What is amazing about a man who is in a corner and has no way out confessing to being a serial adulterer in order to save $2 million? He chose the lesser of two evils.
billyfan8305 People laugh in uncertain situations. The audience on a comedic talkshow is primed to laugh at stuff. Also they laughed to ease tension and show support.
I can't help thinking that things would have gone more smoothly if Letterman had begun by saying something like, "You know, ladies and gentlemen, night after night I sit up here, trying to make you laugh, and sometimes I actually succeed, but right now I have something totally serious that I think you need to know about..."
Dave's way of pitching this "story" is interesting, as he waited over 7 and a half minutes into the story before the finally revealed to a stunned audience both in the theater and at home of his affairs with female staff members who worked on his show.
My favorite reaction to this was that of his ex-partner and onetime head writer of Late Night, Merrill Markoe: “Aw, Dave, you said I was the only one you’d ever cheat on.”
I think Dave handled this situation masterfully, he used humor to frame his experience in a way people could identify and easily sympathize with. My sources say the blackmailer was Robert Halderman, a director on "48 hours". He probably used his investigative journalism skills and inside position at CBS to accumulate tons of moderately scandalous material. Dave's been dating that Lasko lady on and off forever. Any sexual details with staffers are bound to be slightly embarassing.
@@Brinta3 No you're actually right. This video was posted on Oct. 2nd 2009. The original comment cannot be from earlier than that. I can find a TMZ article posted on Oct. 1st 2009 saying Halderman was arrested for blackmailing him.
it's kinda scary how people continue laughing as David is closing in on his point, I know they tell you to laugh but at some point it's as creepy as what David is trying to say.
I would be losing my shit if I was letterman, literally said he was being blackmailed for 2 million dollars and the audience applauded, kudos to him for keeping his composure
A public apology to his wife would've been good, but only because her embarrassment was public. I'm confident he did the right thing by her in private. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Letterman for doing this. He owned it, just like anyone that messes up should. Too bad more celebrities don't have this much bravery. Bravo Mr. Letterman.
Tyler Universe Could you see how scared he was? The apprehension was obvious on his face and in his voice. Condemn him if you want but you cannot deny this took bravery to do on live television.
I'm a fan of Letterman -- I don't want this comment to be (mis)interpreted as spite or hatred -- but he only came forward and 'confessed' because was being blackmailed. In a parallel universe where the lady (Stephanie Birkitt) + her boyfriend (Robert Halderman) just blew it off, or otherwise handled it privately, instead of resorting to blackmail, I don't know that he ever would have faced or dealt with it. Regina (wife) was supposedly not pleased by this 'public apology,' and saw it as hammy schtick.
It’s clear to me when he’s joking and not, but it could just be because I already knew the situation before watching this and the audience probably didn’t
Another extramarital affair. I have to admit I have lost count. PS: He handled it smoothly, even the audience did not take it seriously. Well, he is a comedian.
Remember that David and his apologists judged and condemned Bristol Palin for being a unwed teenage mother. Now they are telling us to not be judgmental.
Perhaps that's because Bristol Palin and her mother made it a point to lecture others about being intimate before marriage, and she had not one but TWO kids out of wedlock. With two different guys.
I think the audience didnt get that he was serious. Thats why the laughed. Cant blame them, who would have expected him exposing himself on his own show
PEOPLE! Dave had relations with some co-workers BEFORE his 2009 marriage- he was single for 29 or 30 years!!! He did NOT cheat on his wife at the time this broke. He could NOT have handled the situation so well if he'd been cheating.
But he did cheat on his wife with several women who worked directly for him or his production company and he admitted it. Letterman had been married to Regina Lasko since March, 2009. They had lived together for some years prior to their marriage and had a son born in 2003. Letterman mentioned no one by name when he admitted on his show of October 1, 2009 to multiple affairs. But it soon came out that among those he had affairs with was his personal assistant Stephanie Birkitt who had been in a sexual relationship with him up until just before his on-air admission.
I know this comment was made 5 years ago but it’s not true. He was married in March of 2009. His affair with Stephanie Birkitt lasted until at least August 2009. He cheated.
@@patrickr9670 And your impeccable source is/are medie reporters... I'll believe Dave at his word, thank you. [PS- Being seen with someone is not proof of boinking said person!]
@@THE-HammerMan Maybe you should believe David. Because he has on multiple occasions mentioned that he was in a committed relationship with Regina for 23 years before he got married. He didn’t meet his wife in 2009. The mental gymnastics required to defend your hero is astounding.
@@mariedewitt5033 Not really, many top lawyers could have easily constructed a legally binding contract, where Letterman would pay the man the money, but he would have to sign a deal saying he would not reveal the details. If he revealed it, or the details leaked, the man would be nabbed for millions of dollars. This is what top lawyers do, and remember Dave was worth back then around $400 million, he could afford the top lawyers to crush this blackmailer. So, no, it wouldn't have to come out at all.
Humans are robots. They like what they like and they'll defend it to the death. Look at the abortion situation. No remorse. Look at Nazi Germany. Same thing. Serial killers. Theives. People don't feel remorse because remorse hurts and people protect the people they love no matter what they do unless it affects them personally or social pressure becomes too strong against them. Then they change. But only through great personal pressure.
" hey honey the recording is going just taking so long Im gonna be home late again dont wait for dinner" *clunk" "alright girls now I want you to lie down on each other and hold this banana, and scream cowboy Dave"
Letterman said it best: I was worried for myself, my family. I felt menaced by this and I had to tell them all of the creepy things that I have done that are gonna be... Now why is that funny? Sometimes audiences need to learn the differences between seriousness and humor.
Well.. He didn't exactly make it serious himself now, did he? Throughout his speech he told it jokingly.. ofc people will laugh when they don't think it's real
Yeah it's the guest or whoever was sitting in the chair next to him. You can hear him a few more times throughout the video. That's the reason he was looking to his right a few times while he was talking. P.S. I'm sorry this didn't get to you a bit sooner....
well i don't agree with getting blackmailed but just because you decide to be upfront about your extramarital affair doesn't make it right. he also didn't bother apologizing to his family who is the one who should be embarrassed in this whole situation. what a disgusting man and yes how embarrassing for the women that slept with him.
There's been talk, for years, that Letterman is a constantly-angry person -- that his tight-lipped "Yup, yup, how bout that, ho ho ho, how funny" manner is a 24x7 partially-masked contempt. It apparently got (even) worse after he was blackmailed about the Stephanie Birkitt affair -- he felt like he couldn't trust anyone, on his staff or otherwise, like they were all garbage, like they were all out to get him -- I think you can see this in his monologue and teeth-gritted speech with uncooperative guests, and (to me) his "on-air philandering confession + spousal apology" felt like a heated, not-fully-sincere OMG they're making me do this, I'm gonna ham it up schtick. His session with Marc Maron has a bit of ugly past-youth/father history in it. Doesn't make me 'love' or 'hate' the guy, but he's very complex, not 100% as visible.
Just Imagine sitting in the audience thinking it's a funny bit, or joke, and Dave is telling you the truth about his affair and a crime committed live on air.
You can't blame the audience... They are at a comedy show, and he gave no warning this was a serious thing. Would you expect a real confession like that if you went to the Letterman show? ... Not only that but at 8:10 is an example of him making jokes about it while telling the story.
Im not too sure what was funny either but Mr.Letterman couldnt have handled the situation any better. Was honest about it and kept it moving. People act like theyve never fucked up before.
one time dave asked the audience do they dial of they internet (it was years ago), he was asking them if they use it. a normal person would just say yeah i do or no i dont, the audience clap. they clap and cheer!!!!.....thats not even an answer, thats applauding yourself for pressing a button dave should have done this before the audience was brought in, just him, a camera and paul.....and empty studio..thats it
The audience had no idea he was being serious. When he said he had sex with staff they started cheering and you can tell he was like you are making this harder. Because he always joked about stuff like Bill Clinton. People still today think it is funny but it isn't when it happens to you.