It turns out the Ed Sullivan Theater is one gigantic glass house.
David Letterman, the man who relentlessly poked fun at the likes of Bill Clinton and Eliot Spitzer for their sexual improprieties, has engaged in some sexual shenanigans of his own.
Now, keep in mind, the transgressions of celebrities never, ever get dealt with fairly. And by that we mean, the sword slices both ways. Celebs either are treated more leniently or more harshly than a normal person. In neither case is it fair, per se.
But there is the odd instance when a celebrity is treated both too easily and too cruelly for the same transgression. The Letterman fiasco has the potential to develop into one of those.
For those who missed it, on The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS Thursday night, Letterman admitted he had sex with women who work for him on the show, and that someone who knew about the sex allegedly tried to blackmail him for $2 million. The alleged blackmailer -- CBS producer Robert Halderman -- has been arrested.
Halderman apparently used to live with Stephanie Birkett, a former Letterman personal assistant who made regular appearances on the show and was known for her classic deadpan face. Reports have indicated Letterman had an affair with Birkett, which Halderman became aware of, and he was allegedly trying to use that knowledge to blackmail Letterman.
OK, so we all know blackmail is wrong, and hopefully the blackmailer will get what's coming to him if guilty. Far more grey is how Letterman's admission of sex with underlings will impact his reputation in the short and long terms.
Letterman got an easy ride from the studio audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater on Thursday, but we don't blame the crowd for that, necessarily. It was a confusing situation.
The audience, understandably, thought it was a joke at first. But as the story progressed, it became apparent this was serious, and at times Letterman appeared physically shaken.
After the first commercial break, Letterman sat at his desk and told the whole tale. It began about three weeks ago when Letterman found a package and a letter in the back of his car. The story proceeded to his testimony before a grand jury on Thursday and the subsequent arrest of Halderman.
Then Letterman said, "Now we get to, what was it, what was all the creepy stuff that he was going to put into the screenplay and the movie? The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show."
Hushed silence from the crowd.
"My response to that is, yes I have."
The audience laughed. A hearty round of applause ensued.
True, the audience probably didn't know what to do. But laughter and applause? Really?
We might have done the same thing had we been in the audience, but honestly, the next morning we would have wished we had reacted differently. The appropriate response, perhaps, was more silence.
The public always is interested when celebrities have sex. But we don't tend to judge it. We all wish we were having sex with celebrities, too, so it's envy more than disdain.
But where this gets sticky is that Letterman was the boss. And it's worth remembering, even though Birkett's name has emerged, that Letterman did use the term "women" not "woman."
Is this going to be a big deal for Letterman moving forward? Reactions to these types of things aren't always predictable. Feminist groups, for example, were shockingly supportive of Bill Clinton when it was revealed he had a sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky. And we're still waiting for the big protests everyone was predicting for convicted dog-abuser and reinstated NFLer Michael Vick.
This probably blows over. But it becomes a mushroom cloud if one of the other women comes forward and suggests, even remotely, that she felt pressured by Letterman, her boss, to have sex with him.
That's unlikely. But if it does happen, while CBS never would cancel the 62-year-old Letterman, we can see him setting a retirement date for himself if this gets too hairy.
Will Letterman have to lay low with Clinton and Spitzer jokes for a while? If he turns the punch lines on himself, will that be seen as making light of sexual harassment in the work place?
The other late-night comics probably will tread lightly on this, if they touch it at all -- they're all pretty scared of Letterman. But other comedians not in the late-night brotherhood will have a field day.
We in no way are qualified to discuss the ins and outs of sexual harassment. But the David Letterman situation should reiterate this point, whether you're famous or not: If you're a boss and you're horny, it's always way safer to keep your personal staff away from your hired staff.
