photo credit: Colin Summers
While you might not know her name, you’ve probably watched a show she has written on. She created Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and wrote for Coach, Newhart, Murphy Brown and many others.
In this absorbing and brave Vanity Fair Letterman and Me she talks about her time as a writer on Late Night with David Letterman. Finally we have a real, live person who has years of experience (there have been so few women on the writing staff so it’s hard to get someone on the record) talking about the behind the scenes of that show. And it ain’t pretty. Sex between staffers was rampant, and yes, it does matter to people working in that environment.
Here are some excerpts:
At this moment, there are more females serving on the United States Supreme Court than there are writing for Late Show with David Letterman, The Jay Leno Show, and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien combined. Out of the 50 or so comedy writers working on these programs, exactly zero are women. It would be funny if it weren’t true.
I was the second female writer ever hired at Late Night. When I applied for the job in 1988, I had no way of knowing how much the odds were stacked against me. In 27 years, Late Night and Late Show have hired only seven female writers. These seven women have spent a total of 17 years on staff combined. By extrapolation, male writers have racked up a collective 378 years writing jokes for Dave (based on an average writing room of 14 men, the size of the current Late Show staff).
Without naming names or digging up decades-old dirt, let’s address the pertinent questions. 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.
I just want to personally shout out and thank Nell for having the guts to put her experience in writing. The only way things will change is if people with personal experience out the bad behavior and say, this has happened to me, and no, it’s not ok. Thank you Nell.
Read this piece: Letterman and Me
View Original Post at womenandhollywood.com
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