NEW YORK — David Letterman made a shocking confession on Thursday's "Late Show," admitting that he was targeted in a $2 million extortion plot centered on his sexual relations with female members of his staff.
Letterman mixed both humor and a serious tone in giving his account of the scandal, which began three weeks ago when he discovered a package early one morning in the backseat of his car. The contents claimed to know "some terrible, terrible things" that would be made public through a screenplay and a book if the host didn't comply with their demands.
Letterman said he immediately contacted his attorney, which in turn set the wheels in motion for two face-to-face meetings with the man behind the plot. With the help of the Manhattan District Attorney's special prosecution bureau, the sting operation led to an arrest Thursday after the alleged extortionist accepted a $2 million counterfeit check. CBS said the individual arrested works as a producer on the network program "48 Hours."
"This morning, I did something I've never done in my life," the 62-year-old Letterman told his studio audience. "I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury."
"I was worried for myself, I was worried for my family," he continued. "I felt menaced by this, and I had to tell them all of the creepy things that I had done ... The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show. My response to that is, yes I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would."
Letterman, who married in March after a lifetime of bachelorhood, did not reveal when the sex took place with members of his staff. He also said that it wasn't his place to reveal the names of the staff members in question.
"It's been a very bizarre experience," he said. "I felt like I needed to protect these people. I need to protect my family. I need to protect myself. Hope to protect my job."
Letterman then told the audience that he doesn't plan to make any more comments on the matter again.
The incident is the second sex-charged headline-grabber for Letterman in the last few months. In June, he joked that New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez had knocked up the 14-year-old daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. After the joke immediately drew criticism from Palin, Letterman spent eight minutes defending himself on the following night's show. He admitted that the joke was crude, but said that it was in reference to Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, who had a child out of wedlock.
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