Rarely will you hear anyone associate genius, in terms of PR, when it comes to comedians. However, on Thursday night, late show mainstay David Letterman did something he hasn’t done in a while – being relevant. Yes, the Sarah Palin snafu got him tabloid shock value, but this time the triple-bypass survivor beat the celeb-hawking tabloid media to the punch.
During a monologue the Late Show host admitted to testifying to infidelity in an extortion deposition earlier in the day. The testimony included admitting that he had affairs with women who worked with him.
Admittedly it is awkward that the audience laughs at his admission, but the one laughing at the end was Letterman. By spilling the beans on his show, the dirt that could have been thrown by the celebrity gossip pages was already old news. UPDATE – Video has been removed due to copyright claim.
Looks like Worldwide Pants’ PR team scooped him on PR 101, diffuse the story as quickly as possible and with any celebrity winning in the court of public opinion is almost as good as a courtroom win.
Here is a full report on the aftermath and legal analysis from CBS.