Okay, it’s all over the news and the talk shows. David Letterman has a history of having sex with his female employees, some of them very young.
I haven’t really been following all the chatter about this, but there is chatter about the chatter at our support group. Some are very upset about how a lot of people are dismissing Letterman’s actions as being not a serious breach of ethics. And I know that many in the media have raised the question about whether Letterman has been harassing his employees, and NOW has issued a strong statement. So there has been discussion of SH going on, with even some talk show hosts saying that this is just “how men are” and women have to get used to it. (I have to admit, this greatly upset me when I heard it.)
I’ve written about quid pro quo harassment already, and it sounds like the Letterman show had a culture of implied quid pro quo harassment going on. The rumor is that it was known by pretty much everyone on his staff “what women had to do to get ahead” on his show. Seems he has a bedroom above his office called “The Bunker” for his favorite female staffers.
I don’t know if this is true or not, but if it is, it is absolutely quid pro quo harassment and is illegal as anything. It doesn’t just discriminate against the women who have to provide sexual favors to get ahead, it discriminates against those who don’t give in as they often have greater difficulty moving up the ladder because they don’t allow themselves to be sexualized.
And did the men have to have sex with Letterman to get ahead there? I doubt it.
In their press release, NOW states:
“Recent developments in the David Letterman extortion controversy have raised serious issues about the abuse of power leading to an inappropriate, if not hostile, workplace environment for women and employees. In the case of Letterman, he is a multi-million dollar host of one of the most popular late-night shows; in that role, he wields the ultimate authority as to who gets hired, who gets fired, who gets raises, who advances, and who does entry-level tasks among the Late Show employees. As “the boss,” he is responsible for setting the tone for his entire workplace — and he did that with sex. In any work environment, this places all employees — including employees who happen to be women — in an awkward, confusing and demoralizing situation…..
“Every woman — and every man — deserves to work in a place where all employees are respected for their talents and skills. The National Organization for Women calls on CBS to recognize that Letterman’s behavior creates a toxic environment and to take action immediately to rectify this situation.”
Personally, I’m angriest at the apathy and minimizing. To say that this is just “how men are” and women should get used to it is like saying, well, some people are just racist and that’s just how things are, but that’s life. Or, some people are just anti-semetic. Deal with it.
Bullshit!!! I won’t just deal with it.
We keep pointing our fingers at the Middle East for THEIR backwards attitudes about women. In the U.S., we have a very long way to go before we become as evolved as we think we already are.
And if these rumors are true, then to the Letterman staffers who have been so exploited and discriminated against, I have only two words to say: class action.
