David Letterman Apologizes to Wife, CBS Staff on Show

David Letterman had several affairs with CBS female employees and it eventually transpired in the media, as a man tried to blackmail him for $2 million to keep his mouth shut. Instead of complying, Letterman went to the police and then publicly discussed the extortion attempt on his show – but little did he imagine the kind of consequences this would have on others around him, especially other CBS staffers and his wife.

Consequently, he apologized to all those who had been hurt by his conduct during the opening monologue of the latest edition of his show, as People magazine can confirm. At the same time, he assured audiences that the flings and affairs were a thing of the past, and clearly not something he continued to indulge every now and then, as it had been suggested in the media in recent days. Still, that does not change the fact that his actions have hurt many.

Of course, the first one to have been hurt by that is Letterman’s wife, Regina Lasko, whom he married this year after 23 years of dating. “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’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, so let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me.” Letterman said.

CBS staffers have also been hurt by the recent scandal, despite the fact that they had nothing to do with it, to start with. Many women working with him on the show had been hounded by the media and “humiliated” with inappropriate questions, Letterman said, and he should have known better than to put them through such an ordeal. His mistakes were his mistakes, and no one should have to pay for them, the talk-show host continued by saying.

“I’m terribly sorry that I put the staff in that position. Inadvertently, I just wasn’t thinking ahead. And, moreover, the staff here has been wonderfully supportive to me, not just through this furor, but through all the years that we’ve been on television and especially all the years here at CBS, so, again, my thanks to the staff for, once again, putting up with something stupid I’ve gotten myself involved in.” Letterman further added. However, he made a point of stressing that it was important for a victim of a blackmail attempt to “push back” and not just simply comply with the extortionist’s demands.

Here is where you can see David Letterman’s opening monologue and his heartfelt apology to all those who’ve been affected by the recent scandal.