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Letterman Apologizes to His Wife...and Sarah Palin
6-Oct-2009
Written by: Chelsea Toder
Navigating the air waves of taste and timing.
The world stayed up late last night to watch how David Letterman would handle the unraveling saga of his bedroom escapades and the alleged extortion plot that brought them out from beneath the sheets. Last night on his "Late Show," Letterman announced, "I wasn’t gonna talk about it anymore, but it seems like people want to talk about it." Of his current employees, continued Letterman, "I would just like to set the record straight: No, I’m not having sex with these women. Those episodes are in the past."
Letterman then sent out an on-air apology to his wife of nearly seven months: "Now, the other thing, is my wife Regina. She has been horribly hurt by my behavior, and when something happens like that, if you hurt a person and it's your responsibility, you try to fix it. At that point, there is 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. So let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me."
To sum the infidelity segment up, said the comedian, "And now, also, because what could it hurt, so once again I’d like to apologize to the former governor of Alaska. Sarah Palin, I’m terribly, terribly sorry. So there we go."
While the comedian’s words seemed articulate and heartfelt, what was most curious about the show was the laughter, clapping and sporadic jokes that accompanied apology. Along with his Sarah Palin quip, jested the comedian at one point, "As a matter of fact, Alan Kalter (the "Late Show" announcer) kept wanting to know if we’d have sex. Do you remember that Alan?"
While funny has earned Letterman fame and most can empathize with resorting to comedy in crisis, the manner in which Letterman and his TV show handled the apology left this opinionated journalist unsatisfied. When you have at home a woman who’s been with you for over 20 years and a young son -- both having to cope with the fact that you have not only slept with your staff, but the whole world knows it -- is funny really fitting? When your staff is being admittedly "hounded" by paparazzi and reporters, should you even include audience laughter and clapping (real or on a laugh track)? When your wife has to decide whether she will be able to hold her head up every day if she stays in a marriage when the whole world knows she was cheated on, is silly sensitive? Does this real woman who you painfully jilted want her apology in the same breath as Sarah Palin’s?
I’m not certain: when you make your living as a comedian and you make a serious mis-sex, where is the line between humor and humane?
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