David Letterman Drama Can’t Compete with Madonna’s New Look

David Letterman’s former lover spills secrets to fellow CBS employee, but the Late Show host refuses to pay the price of extortion.

A CBS television producer threatened Late Show host David Letterman. Authorities say Robert Joel Halderman sent Letterman a package that threatened to reveal his sexcapades with female subordinates unless Letterman paid him $2 million dollars. Letterman revealed the extortion plot to his audience on the October 1 taping of the Late Show.

Halderman was indicted by a grand jury and pleaded guilty in the following Friday’s court appearance. “His actions reflect desperation that is alarming and dangerous,” prosecutor Judy Salwen told Reuters news service. Halderman’s attorney says the story is more complicated than first reported, but would not elaborate.

Stephanie Birkitt was one of the women involved. Birkitt was Letterman’s assistant, and allegedly had an affair with him – but broke it off prior to the talk show host’s marriage in 2003. Birkitt also lived with Halderman after his 2004 divorce, when she met him while working as a page for 48 Hours, which Halderman produced. Sources say Birkitt is allegedly where Halderman got his information.

Although Letterman himself has never been suspected of having any plastic surgery, many stars have confessed to plastic surgery as Late Show guests. But, Madonna isn’t one of them. On her September 30 appearance, Letterman repeatedly tried to get her to talk about what work she’s had done, but she refused to engage on the topic.

Bloggers engaged on it, however. The day after Madonna’s interview, blogs were ablaze with criticisms on her new look, saying her jowls looked misshapen and lumpy. Others questioned whether she’d had injectable fillers.

In March of this year, the UK Daily Mail reported that Madonna might have undergone a new facial procedure called the “ribbon lift,” a 30-minute procedure that uses a dissolvable ribbon to lift neck tissues and create a more youthful look. Ribbon lifts cost around $6,000 and results last about three years.

During the interview, Madonna said of previous Late Show appearances, “I think I may have made a fool of myself once or twice on your show. It wasn’t because I was excited about you. I think it may have been something to do with the joint I smoked before I came on.”