Letterman scandal

There's a remarkably poor grasp of the entertainment industry in this thread and entertainment culture in general
 
Just thinking said:
I just love those double standards. But what's worse, is how some spin them into looking as not such a bad thing ... eh?
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Find a post of mine that contradicts what I have posted here and we can discuss it. Don't assume I fit your stereotype version of me, because I do not.
 
skeptigirl said:
No, it isn't. People date coworkers. If they didn't there would a lot less dating in the world.
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Agreed.

We are seeing the remnants of an ideology prominent in the '80s, I think. In the reasonable goal of protecting women from sexual harassment, some tried to ban -all- romantic entanglements with co-workers--consensual or not.

This is profoundly il-liberal, as well as impractical. We cannot stop folks from forming bonds with the people they spend most of their waking hours with.

Hopefully, now that women are common in professional positions, harrassment is less of a problem. If not, the woman (or man) wronged has recourse to the courts.
 
quadraginta said:
I suspect that was mostly preemptive in nature. If he hadn't brought it up the day the dude was busted it would have been done for him the next morning on all of the network morning shows anyway.

I think that was probably the only opportunity he would have had to begin the discussion on his own terms. He's got his own pulpit, why not use it?

To his credit I don't feel like he tried to sugarcoat the situation or downplay his behavior. It was, under the circumstances, a refreshingly straightforward description of the episode. No smarmy mea culpas, no whiny justifications.
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Except his usual clueless audience laughed and applauded when the creepy Letterman admitted he did creepy stuff with Late Show employees. The entire 10 minute episode was indicative of the same bad judgment Letterman exercised when he violated the rule you don't **** where you eat.
 
Marc39 said:
Chris Rock says men are as faithful as their options.

My advice: Be with someone with few options.
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I don't know. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates could afford lifestyles that would put Hugh Hefner to shame, but they don't live like that.

How Does Warren Buffett Get Married? Frugally, It Turns Out

It did not move markets, and Berkshire Hathaway shares barely budged, but the marriage of Warren E. Buffett, the Omaha billionaire, to his longtime companion, Astrid Menks, had the financial world all abuzz yesterday.

Mr. Buffett and Ms. Menks formalized a relationship of more than 20 years in a brief civil ceremony at his daughter’s house in Omaha Wednesday afternoon.

The new Mrs. Buffett, 60, has been the constant companion to the 76-year-old financier, even as he remained married to his first wife, Susan T. Buffett, who died in 2004.

The first Mrs. Buffett, who had lived apart from her husband since the late 1970’s, knew and approved of the relationship with Ms. Menks.

“She has been with my father all these years for all the right reasons,” Mr. Buffett’s daughter, Susie Buffett, said in a telephone interview. “I’m so thankful. She loves him and takes care of him. If Warren didn’t have a cent, she’d be with him.”
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Sounds pretty tame compared to the mischief he could have been up to if he had a mind to.

Bill Gates is still on his first marraige. If he cheats, he keeps it discreet.
 
LibraryLady said:
However, this is a man who got married very recently to a woman he's lived with for about 20 years and with whom he has a 5 or 6 year old son. Does he really just think of women as receptacles? Or is he so driven by his libido that nothing else really matters?

We see a lot of this, I know. And I know that not all men are this type of pig. However, it just seems so damn wrong to me.
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This seems like old-fashioned thinking to me. Are the women hapless victims here, or did they go into it with eyes wide open, considering that Dave is a very wealthy man and they could get some piece of that, even if it's a cush job that pays well. The only real harm is social stigma due to religiously-based puritanical sexual mores. I think we would all be more well-adjusted if we got over our hang-ups about sex, a natural part of being a human animal. Why exactly do sexual relationships have to be exclusive?
 
Dave wasn't married until, I believe, this year. So any sex wasn't extramarital. No one has ever complained or filed charges against Dave before.

Some people have a problem with Dave sleeping with "employees" - but none of the interns that have ever worked on his show, or any late night talk show for that matter, have gotten paid. They do it for free. They might get college credit, but you get the credit or you don't. You can't get more credit. So what's Dave's angle for 'abusing his power' with legal adults? "Sleep with me or I'll not let you work an unpaid position anymore"? He FAMOUSLY dated Merril Markoe, a writer on his show for years, and no one has ever even accused him of abusing his power nor accused her of getting "jokes for sex" or whatever.

This is a nonissue. Dave was being sarcastic, and he revealed as much as he did so people wouldn't have any grounds to blackmail him again. Remember, someone put together a plot to kidnap his son 4 years ago, and he's probably a little freaked out by random strangers trying to hurt him and his family for money.
 
Puppycow said:
I don't know. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates could afford lifestyles that would put Hugh Hefner to shame, but they don't live like that.

How Does Warren Buffett Get Married? Frugally, It Turns Out

Sounds pretty tame compared to the mischief he could have been up to if he had a mind to.

Bill Gates is still on his first marraige. If he cheats, he keeps it discreet.
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Bill Gates probably doesn't cheat. He probably has sex with robots.
 
quadraginta said:
Any points in particular you disapprove of, or is this just a drive-by carpet bombing of dismissal.
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The boss/subordinate thing for one big sore thumb.

The incredibly sexist idea that somehow men have magic powers over women and that if there is an affair it must be the man forcing the woman

The idea that an intern wouldnt absolutely kick the living crap out of anyone who tried to force any unwanted advances on them (with it on tape, audio and DNA for backup)

just for a few
 
pipelineaudio said:
The boss/subordinate thing for one big sore thumb.

The incredibly sexist idea that somehow men have magic powers over women and that if there is an affair it must be the man forcing the woman

The idea that an intern wouldnt absolutely kick the living crap out of anyone who tried to force any unwanted advances on them (with it on tape, audio and DNA for backup)

just for a few
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Without going back and counting I'd guess that the majority of the posts in this thread tend towards the same perspective.

I certainly do.
 
ponderingturtle said:
See just more evidence of his impropriety.
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Merrill Markoe didn't succeed as a writer or a producer because she dated David Letterman. Her career is solidly based on her ability and talent. A quick Google search of her name will show you her credentials. Inferring otherwise is insulting to the woman and the hard work she has put into her career.

If you are going to suggest that, in dating her, Letterman took improper advantage of her in some way, then it could also be said that Markoe took equal advantage of Letterman. Without evidence of either, your moral high horse is precarious.

Two unattached, adult colleagues in a consensual long term romantic relationship...jeez, what is the world coming to? :rolleyes:
 
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skeptigirl said:
Find a post of mine that contradicts what I have posted here and we can discuss it. Don't assume I fit your stereotype version of me, because I do not.
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Trouble reading?

I'm speaking of double standards (different sets of rules for different folks), not contradictions.
 
Cicero said:
Except his usual clueless audience laughed and applauded when the creepy Letterman admitted he did creepy stuff with Late Show employees. The entire 10 minute episode was indicative of the same bad judgment Letterman exercised when he violated the rule you don't **** where you eat.
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I'd just like to bring this up. Creepy stuff? As far as I know, he had intercourse with them. Unless you're a genetic experiment gone terribly, terribly wrong, I have some news for you about how you got here.
 
The creepy stuff Cicero is referring to is not sex ... it's not even consensual sex ... it's not even sex with co-workers per se (although that starts to get a bit dicey). It's about having sex with an employee ... a subordinate. Not cool. And in some instances not allowed by policy.
 
desertgal said:
Merrill Markoe didn't succeed as a writer or a producer because she dated David Letterman. Her career is solidly based on her ability and talent. A quick Google search of her name will show you her credentials. Inferring otherwise is insulting to the woman and the hard work she has put into her career.

If you are going to suggest that, in dating her, Letterman took improper advantage of her in some way, then it could also be said that Markoe took equal advantage of Letterman. Without evidence of either, your moral high horse is precarious.

Two unattached, adult colleagues in a consensual long term romantic relationship...jeez, what is the world coming to? :rolleyes:
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Your sarcasm detector is broken.
 
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