"I never get involved with the ladies I work with"
About this Quote
A neat little sentence that tries to make a mess look tidy. Coming from an actor of Dirk Benedict's era, "I never get involved with the ladies I work with" reads like a preemptive press release: a boundary framed as personal principle, delivered with the casual confidence of someone used to being asked about his off-camera life.
The intent is reputational control. In an industry where sets blur into social scenes and publicity trades on flirtation, "never" is doing heavy lifting. It’s not just refusing workplace romance; it’s signaling professionalism, restraint, and a kind of old-school male self-mythology: the guy who could, but won’t. The choice of "ladies" matters too. It’s polite on the surface, faintly paternal underneath, a word that keeps women in a category rather than naming them as peers or colleagues. "Women I work with" would sound like HR. "Ladies" sounds like a gentleman’s code - and a way to soften the power dynamics the line is really about.
The subtext hums with what’s left unsaid: the entertainment workplace has long been a terrain of blurred consent, career leverage, and rumor. A firm-sounding rule can function as both shield and alibi. It reassures fans, disarms interviewers, and quietly flatters the speaker: he’s disciplined enough to keep desire in check, or savvy enough to keep complications off the call sheet. In that way, the line isn’t just about romance. It’s about managing risk in a business built on intimacy.
The intent is reputational control. In an industry where sets blur into social scenes and publicity trades on flirtation, "never" is doing heavy lifting. It’s not just refusing workplace romance; it’s signaling professionalism, restraint, and a kind of old-school male self-mythology: the guy who could, but won’t. The choice of "ladies" matters too. It’s polite on the surface, faintly paternal underneath, a word that keeps women in a category rather than naming them as peers or colleagues. "Women I work with" would sound like HR. "Ladies" sounds like a gentleman’s code - and a way to soften the power dynamics the line is really about.
The subtext hums with what’s left unsaid: the entertainment workplace has long been a terrain of blurred consent, career leverage, and rumor. A firm-sounding rule can function as both shield and alibi. It reassures fans, disarms interviewers, and quietly flatters the speaker: he’s disciplined enough to keep desire in check, or savvy enough to keep complications off the call sheet. In that way, the line isn’t just about romance. It’s about managing risk in a business built on intimacy.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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