October 6, 2009 9:58 AM

David Letterman Apologizes to Wife Regina Lasko: "She Has Been Horribly Hurt by My Behavior"

By
Edecio Martinez
Topics
Daily Blotter
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Last night David Letterman once again used his "Late Show" platform to address his affairs with several female employees of his production company Worldwide Pants, and apologize to his wife Regina Lasko.

"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," he told his "Late Show" audience. "At that point there is only two things that can happen, either you are going to make some progress and get it fixed or you're gonna fall short and perhaps not get it fixed. So let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me."

Letterman's audience applauded the late night funny man after his remarks. He also stated flat-out that those affairs "are in the past."

Letterman and Lasko married in March after a years-long relationship. They have a son together.

This was Letterman's first show taping since last Thursday, when he revealed he had worked with law enforcement officials to prevent an alleged extortion plot that threatened to reveal his office trysts.

Robert "Joe" Halderman, 51, a long-time CBS News producer who had a romantic relationship with one of Letterman's alleged lovers, Stephanie Birkitt, 34, was charged with attempted first-degree grand larceny against Letterman. He was released on $200,000 bail.

Law enforcement officials have said a diary Birkitt kept and Halderman allegedly copied and presented to Letterman, has been at the center of the alleged extortion plot against the talk show host.

On last night's show, Letterman also apologized to his employees, "I'm terribly sorry that I put the staff in that position," Letterman said. "I just wasn't thinking ahead."

As Letterman faces future shows, how he deals with this situation could, ironically, solidify his recent ratings success in late-night TV.

When he first addressed the alleged $2 million blackmail plot against him last Thursday his ratings jumped 38 percent.


MORE ON CRIMESIDER
October 5, 2009 - Stephanie Birkitt (Photo) Secret Diary at Center of Letterman Sex Extortion, Say Cops
October 5, 2009 - Robert "Joe" Halderman's Attorney Wants to Put David Letterman on Stand in Sex Extortion Case
October 2, 2009 - CBS Employee Robert Joe Halderman Charged with $2M David Letterman Extortion Plot
October 2, 2009 - Letterman Video: Admits Sex Extortion Plot
October 2, 2009 - Robert Joe Halderman, 48 Hours Producer, Named in David Letterman Sex Extortion Plot

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by Supertheman October 12, 2009 5:25 AM EDT
Dave's apology was completely ridiculous. The last thing he did was "apologize" to Sarah Palin. I was with a group of people, most women, and when he did the apology to Palin, in that really sarcastic and arrogant way, everyone was disgusted. It was as if he shot the finger to the entire audience. I mean, when you are apologizing to your wife, after you have humiliated her in front of the entire world, why in the world would you end it with a sarcastic apology to Sarah Palin? What does she have to do with it?

One of the women pointed out to me that he had apologized to Sarah Palin for some sexual comment he made about her daughter, an apology he had been forced to give that he didn't really mean. She said that capping off this apology to his wife with the sarcastic apology to Palin was like saying he didn't mean it, just like he didn't mean the apology to Palin. Frankly I felt she was reading way too much into it, but she had a point that it was very stupid to end with that. Why go to all the trouble to apologize to your wife and then end with a sarcastic apology to Palin? I mean, it's like the guy thinks this whole thing is a big joke.

When he broke the story on his show, I had the distinct feeling that he felt what he did was no big deal, that the only thing that was bad was the alleged extortion. The second time, when he apologized to his wife, he was clearly stunned about all the attention it has received. I think that shows that he feels it wasn't bad that he had a "love nest" at work and slept with a lot of his female staff. Unless he is a moron, he has to know that a rich, powerful man such as himself has no business having sex with women on his staff. Doesn't he understand that this was an abuse of power? A young woman who is trying to make it in this business is put in a very nasty situation when she is propositioned by a rich, powerful man who is her boss. In the military this is forbidden, for obvious reasons.

Dave's apology was really a slap in the face. A slap to all the women in the audience, a slap to the women he slept with and a slap to his wife. He didn't come forward to apologize for his actions, he came forward to explain that he had been a "victim" of a plot. Then, the second time when he "apologized" to his staff and his wife, again he referred to himself as a "victim" and said that someone needs to stand against this kind of act, as if he is some kind of white knight fighting evil. It wasn't an apology, it was him condoning his actions and labeling himself as some victim and crusader against evil. It blows my mind that he doesn't understand that what he did was wrong. He simply sees it as him having sex and the only wrong was how he exposed the truth, how the exposure caused the media to hassle his staff and how it has humiliated his wife. He never apologized for having affairs while he was in a committed relationship with the mother of his son. He simply "apologized" for humiliating his wife in telling the world about the extortion plot. He still doesn't get it. Sad.
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by carolcape October 6, 2009 1:43 PM EDT
Well Dave, the devil may care attitude you have finally caught up with you. I don't know when these affairs took place, but obviously you were not thinking with your brain. How could you, knowing that all the time you are making comments related to the President, Governor's and people in high places screwing around on their wives. Of course, you did proper by coming forward and spilling the story on the blackmail attempt. If your wife can forgive you, then I guess we can. I feel that you have come forth in a way that is more appropriate then the other counterparts that have been unfaithful, with their well written speeches and not missing a verb, with their wive's standing by their side. I hope that you and your wife are working things out between you and it really is nobody else's business. But, in future, I hope that anyone watching what has gone on with Dave, will keep their zippers tightly closed and go home to the wife and family. If not, get a divorce and do what you want to do, be free, in stead of having your cake and eating it too. There seems to be a lot of cake these days.
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