Carson Divorce

This is in response to Diana Hale (Letters, Jan. 22), “$44,600 a Month,” regarding Joanna Carson and her claim for support.

I wonder if Hale has given a thought to how much money poor old Johnny Carson is struggling along on every month? She must know that it will certainly be many times what Mrs. Carson is being asked to do with. Though the amount of money Mrs. Carson is asking for may seem a lot and is certainly more than most of us will ever see, that is not the point. Mrs. Carson’s support is predicated on the level of income they, as a couple, enjoyed during their marriage.

Women in California are far worse off financially after divorce, and much, much worse off than men. This is a fact reported on often in The Times. Until women begin to stick up for one another this will always be so. If Hale should be faced with a divorce, as happens to many thousands of women every year, she would be looking at a court order that gave her from one-half (if she is unusually lucky) to one-fifth of the income she had before the divorce. During what is almost always difficult emotional time, a woman is also faced with a financial disaster.

The media are almost wholly to blame for this mood of censure against women involved in divorced with wealthy men. If, each time they reported what Joanna is asking for, or getting, they also reported what Johnny Carson is living on, this kind of outraged response to her would cease immediately and women in general would be receiving a fairer and more balanced hearing in the press.

LORNA MEDWAY

Tarzana