By now, everyone has heard about David Letterman's late-night dalliances with female staffers on his show. His fellow funny men, from Jimmy Kimmel to Conan O'Brien, have all piped in with their comedic two cents; below, Helene Solomon, CEO of Solomon McCown & Company, gives a communicator's perspective about why he will survive this image crisis.
10.) Dave owned the story. He controlled the message and did so on his turf—behind the desk.
9.) He avoided death by a thousand cuts by being transparent and first.
8.) He said “I’m sorry” and seemed to mean it, especially when apologizing to his wife.
7.) Laugh and the world laughs with you— after making fun of Bill Clinton and Mark Sanford, Dave made himself the butt of the joke.
6.) He successfully walked the line between humor and humility.
5.) It helps to have loyal fans. His fans like him. They really, really like him.
4.) So far, the court of public opinion has ruled in Dave’s favor.
3.) He called himself “creepy” before anyone else did.
2.) Blackmail may trump sexual indiscretions.
1.) He’ll leave the sex jokes to Jimmy Kimmel.
Think about the movie “8 Mile” and its turning point: once you realize the worst things anyone can say about you, and say them first, you’re kinda free. Owning up to your failures, saying it first puts you ahead of the PR game. FWIW.
Reason #11:
The public does not hold comedians to a higher moral standard.