David Letterman’s last appearance on “The Late Show” is May 20. We’re delighted to see him exit.
Letterman’s departure is being treated by the Hollywood crowd as a signature moment in television history. But no fair-minded person could ever come to that conclusion. Quite simply, the man is an anti-Catholic bigot. If anyone doubts this to be true, click here.
If this isn’t persuasive enough, question whether Letterman would be regarded as an icon if his “jokes” had been about one of the many protected classes of people in society. This is exactly the problem: among elites, anti-Catholicism is acceptable, but bigotry aimed at others is seen as offensive.
We’re different at the Catholic League—we condemn all expressions of bigotry. That’s why we condemned the recent anti-Islamic cartoon stunt, and the pornographic Charlie Hebdo cartoons.
Letterman’s gall is limitless. Consider his obsession ridiculing predatory priests. Yet he is an admitted predator—he preyed on his female staffers. He was also involved in an extortion scandal. To top things off, his own pathologies are what drove him to secure weekly sessions with a psychiatrist.
When the hosts of the “Opie and Anthony” radio show staged an event in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 2002—a couple had sex in the pews during the day—Letterman took the occasion to mock Catholicism again. In fact, he joked about a priest molesting an altar boy.
Letterman is no Johnny Carson, and he is no American hero. We only hope he makes good on what he told Jane Pauley yesterday, “I don’t think anybody will ever see me again.”
Contact Diane Ekeblad, CBS VP for Communications: diane.ekeblad@cbs.com
