Another shoe drops (kind of, or not really). http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/10/david-letterman-200910?currentPage=1
Nell Scoville reports that when she was the second female comedy writer at Late Night in 1990, Dave... did not hit on her. But because he was sleeping with other women not her (according to office rumors), and some women who may or may not have been sleeping with him seemed to have more influence over him than she thought was appropriate to their lowly job title (apparently somewhere below staff writer) the work environment was hostile. Of course, just because an employee says the environment is hostile does not make it hostile, but Scoville can't really be bothered with providing any details or evidence to support her claims. She does write like the former Secretary of Defense used to talk, and if the rest of her stuff is this funny she must be great at her job (though I always thought *Coach* was written by hacks): "Did Dave hit on me? No. Did he pay me enough extra attention that it was noted by another writer? Yes. Was I aware of rumors that Dave was having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes. Was I aware that other high-level male employees were having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes. Did these female staffers have access to information and wield power disproportionate to their job titles? Yes. Did that create a hostile work environment? Yes. Did I believe these female staffers were benefiting professionally from their personal relationships? Yes. Did that make me feel demeaned? Completely. Did I say anything at the time? Sadly, no." Keep reading to get the sordid, appalling punchline to this story - Dave had the nerve to want Scoville to keep working for him, and even asked her why she was leaving. She quits her dream job because she concludes Dave never would hit on her - or maybe its because she didnt want Dave to have sex with anyone but her, or maybe it was because she didn't want Dave to have sex with anyone, or maybe it was because she did not want Dave's personal assistants to enjoy no-knock privileges to his office, while she had to wait to be buzzed in. Oh brother.... This of course is where the "stupid" in "Dave did something stupid" comes in. It allows any Tom Dick or Sally to claim a hostile work environment with little or no evidence. For all I know Dave did create a hostile work environment for Scoville - perhaps when she pitched jokes for the monologue he looked at her and said "have you let me screw yet? No? Then I think I will go with the joke Buffy told me in the bathroom this morning". Perhaps. But nothing in this article supports a claim of a hostile work environment, even if every specific assertion of fact is true. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
