A former female writer at Late Night with David Letterman has dropped a bombshell in a Vanity Fair article in which she complained of a "hostile work environment for women". While he didn't hit on the writer, she claims that she noticed Letterman paid "extra attention" to her and had a reputation of sleeping with female workers.While this could be a legitimate complaint, I find it somewhat suspicious that she waited until now to write about this. It could be a case of jumping on a bandwagon or she may have been afraid to say anything for fear of repercussions (as in "you'll never work in this industry again").
There is also that fine line between taking advantage of a subordinate and flirting. Not having been there, it's difficult to access what the case actually was. Mind you, flirting with subordinates at the workplace is probably not a good idea in this litigious society, but he was likely so busy with the show, how else was he going to meet single women? Match.com?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-27-2009 @ 8:52PM
Jimmy said...
Hmm ... “Late Night” had a “hostile work environment” in the early 1990s?
Maybe she should have left to work at SNL!
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10-27-2009 @ 9:39PM
jffm said...
Not much of a "bombshell". More like a firecracker tossed from a passing automobile.
So far this apparently brings to grand total of complaints coming out of the Letterman story to 1. Sort of. Over a nineteen year period.
She's not even alleging that Letterman did anything more than pay "extra attention" to her; being careful to state Letterman in fact didn't "hit on" her. And it seems she has to cast her net wider than Letterman to get into 'hostile environment' territory.
"Was I aware that other high-level male employees were having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes. Did these female staffers have access to information and wield power disproportionate to their job titles? Yes. Did that create a hostile work environment? Yes."
It was almost inevitable that someone would, fairly or unfairly, try and ride the coattails of the Letterman story. Here, Nell Scovell does exactly that as she spends a better part of her article lobbying for an increased presence of women in the writers' rooms of all the late night shows; to her credit noting that she had just recently put in a submission to work with Letterman's show again.
This reads much more like workplace politics, perhaps (and only perhaps) taking unfair advantage of the current situation, but that's the way politics in any realm works sometimes.
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10-27-2009 @ 10:38PM
winfolife said...
Years ago I went see the Letterman show. One of the female ushers quietly commented he was difficult to work with and had a bad temper. I stopped myself short of telling her to leave if the work environment was intolerable.
Having worked in the corporate sector, women still aren't treated equally as men. Is it fair, no. Does Nell Scovell's believe her aricle will presssure Letterman to hire more female writers? Nope.
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10-27-2009 @ 10:47PM
MJL said...
I can absolutely guarantee that the female page you encountered never had any contact with Letterman.
10-28-2009 @ 2:26AM
Tweeder said...
MJL, how can you personally absolutely guarantee anything? Unless your Letterman yourself you have no idea who he had contact with. Keep your mouth shut.
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10-28-2009 @ 11:26AM
MJL said...
Just trust me.
10-28-2009 @ 2:43AM
Mike said...
He had some nerve tonight to delve into the Cougar phenom and even asked "why do you do that." I woulda thought his staff would have kept miles away from any talk of older/younger relationships. He obviously thinks we are all numbed enough to forgive and forget. CBS shopuld take a long look at what ESPN did in a similar situation and prescribe (at minimum) a long vacation
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10-28-2009 @ 2:19PM
basil said...
I don't watch late night talk shows, but TV Squad clearly is a defender of Letterman.
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10-28-2009 @ 3:19PM
MJL said...
Except for this ridiculously unprofessional post:
http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/10/24/youve-been-warned-david-letterman-may-have-his-own-sex-tape/
10-28-2009 @ 4:23PM
rightmom51 said...
Trechak says "..., but he was likely so busy with the show, how else was he going to meet single women?" When I was single and working, I managed to meet single men at work, church, through friends, etc. and I certainly didn't have the celebrity or money Letterman does. Do you really think he's as busy as those of us in the real world who work? He doesn't even have to work if he doesn't want to.
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10-28-2009 @ 9:34PM
Likes to Laugh said...
Video of a chipmunk outside of the Ed Sullivan Theater making a statement about the David Letterman.
http://electrofresco.blip.tv/file/2780158/
blip tv similar to youtube
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