Letterman Apologizes Again For Palin Joke

(CBS/AP)  Updated 9:15 a.m. ET

David Letterman said his joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter was a lousy joke, no matter how you cut it, and he's sorry.

But the late-night host insisted that what's got people really riled is the misconception over which Palin daughter the joke was about.

On Monday's edition of "Late Show," Letterman explained that the risque joke thought by some to have targeted Palin's underage daughter, Willow, was actually referring to 18-year-old daughter Bristol. The name of the daughter wasn't mentioned in the joke, which was part of Letterman's monologue on last Monday's show.

It was "a coarse joke," "a bad joke," Letterman told viewers. "But I never thought it was (about) anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure, in fact, that she is of legal age, 18."

"The joke, really, in and of itself, can't be defended," he declared.

Even so, the ongoing outcry, led by Palin and her husband, Todd, has centered on Letterman intending to make a joke about the Palins' 14-year-old daughter having sex with a Yankees baseball player.

Todd Palin issued a statement last week that said "any 'jokes' about raping my 14-year-old are despicable."

And Sarah Palin charged Letterman with "sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity."

But the apology was accepted. On The Early Show Tuesday Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen reported Sarah Palin's response:

"Of course it's accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation will soon evolve."

On Monday's show, Letterman said, "I'm wondering, 'Well, what can I do to help people understand that I would never make a joke like this?' I've never made jokes like this, as long as we've been on the air, 30 long years."

If that's the misconception - that the joke was aimed at a 14-year-old - he understands why people are upset, he said. "I would be upset myself." Letterman has said from the beginning that he thought the Palin daughter who attended the Yankee game was Bristol.

"I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke," he said. "It's not your fault that it was misunderstood, it's my fault that it was misunderstood."

He apologized to both daughters, "and also to the Governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke," he said as the studio audience applauded. "I'm sorry about it, and I'll try to do better in the future."

On Tuesday, Palin released a statement, saying she accepted Letterman's apology "on behalf of all young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve." (Read more on Palin's statement here.)

[irakellman]

I have been a loyal listener for many years,no matter who the competition.I do not understand why you insist on telling the same jokes or repeating things night after night.I just turned off the TV when for the third night in a row you asked if everyone knew it was gay pride week and that you could tell from looking at the audience.It was funny once.There are many other examples as well.It is as if you think TV viewers ,like your audience ,are different every night. This isn't about the content just the repetition.

[ladypirate2]

by mrzerato June 18, 2009 7:44 AM PDT
And all of those attorneys and other people have one thing in common, they want you to send money. So send them money and buy some lottery tickets. You will have a better chance of winning the power ball than seeing the attorney's efforts succeed. But by all means donate to those shylocks and waste your money. LMAO

I have never sent them one dime but that doen't mean that I don't think they are actually searching for His birth certificate! I think they are and it will be found one day soon! It exists somewhere! It's probably locked away in a safe somewhere or in a safety deposit box. Obama is fighting it's release because he knows what it says! They'll find the safe or safety deposit box, though, and they'll get a court order to open it. When they do, well you know what they are going to do! It won't be long after that until empeachment proceedings begin!

And about the lottery tickets, yes I do occasionally buy a lottery ticket! I am not alone in that! Millions of others buy them too and most of them buy them more often than I do! You probably buy one occasionally yourself but you won't admit it!

[reeters]

I can tell racist jokes anytime I want to. Haven't you heard of the 1st Amendment? I'm tired of all you white liberals that are in love with Obama and his family. He is a porch monkey in a suit that can read a teleprompter. I would think Letterman would have a field day with that for his jokes, but instead he jokes about young white girls. Heaven forbid he says something like that about Sasha and the other one. Don't cast stones, one of the Obama girls could get knocked up soon and nobody would make a joke about them. Letterman still needs to get fired!

[JustFacts]

No he is NOT able to read a teleprompter! http://www.twilightslastgleaming.com/teleprompter.htm

[ladypirate2]

by mrzerato June 17, 2009 5:53 AM PDT
Ladypirate

I still see that you are on this conspiracy theory again. The conspiracy about whether or not President Obama was born in the US.

It would take the following people to perpetuate that theory: The state of Hawaii, President Obama, President Obama's mother(off course she had to be prescient), The Honolulu Advertiser, August 13th 1961, (PRESCIENCE NEEDED HERE) the Kenyan and/or Indonesian government, the National Election Commission, the Democratic party, the United States Supreme Court, several US district courts, the State of Illinois, the main stream media, President Obama?s grandparents and the passport office.

Now that is quite a conspiracy theory with a lot of conspirators. Only the kooks would believe this nonsense. You deserve a Tin Foil Hat for your little conspiracy theory. Wear it in good health


You are wrong! There are many attorneys and etc. investigating this and if they do find his true birth certificate and if it says that Obama was born in Kenya all they will have to do is turn it over to the right people in congress and in the supreme court. They will then check it out to see if it's valid and if it is, then impeachment proceedings will begin!

[mrzerato]

And all of those attorneys and other people have one thing in common, they want you to send money. So send them money and buy some lottery tickets. You will have a better chance of winning the power ball than seeing the attorney's efforts succeed. But by all means donate to those shylocks and waste your money. LMAO

[perm3800a]

Letterman has room to talk - he didn't marry his baby mama until the kid was old enough to go to school - and he can't even claim raging teenage hormones.

[actornaught]

Who was the first one to drag Willow into this mess? Who is Sarah really protecting, instead of her own kids?

[RozmarijaGrauds]

Get real. No one with half a brain thought he was making a nasty jibe at a young teen, it's not his style of humor. The PALINS just wanted PUBLICITY, and the mindless herd of right-wing fundamentalist Republicans took up their torches and stormed the castle at CBS. I LOVED his apology, it cleverly underlined the sheer stupidity of those who chose to take offense. You GO, Dave!

[RozmarijaGrauds]

Get real. No one with half a brain thought he was making a nasty jibe at a young teen, it's not his style of humor. The PALINS just wanted PUBLICITY, and the mindless herd of right-wing fundamentalist Republicans took up their torches and stormed the castle at CBS. I LOVED his apology, it cleverly underlined the sheer stupidity of those who chose to take offense. You GO, Dave!

[demonomo]

It is hard to perceive David Letterman as a comic when he is hampered by the tastless,witless writings of his underlings. They should all resign or go away. He is neither a comic or funny. Simply a lapdog of the network.

[ladypirate2]

by velma179 June 16, 2009 1:33 PM PDT
And what, ladypirate, should we do about people who incite others to yell "kill him" by erroneously stating that a political rival "pals" around with terrorists.

Do you not think THAT could be considered slander, libel or at the very least - insult?

Oh yeah, by the way, we don't ban speech in this country just because it offends us, or even because it is not true. Jokes are a form of speech... you follow?

First of all she wasn't the one who made the threats at that rally! The crowd did! And the definition of slander is:

(This is taken directly from the Thorndike-Barnhart comprehensive desk dictionary)
1. A false statement meant to do harm 2. The spreading of false reports v. 1.Talk falsely about 2.Speak or spread slander Syn. n. 1.Defamation, calumny, libel v. 1. Defame, calumniate

Therefore what that crowd did was not slander or libel or insulting according to my dictionary's definitions of the words. What they said was threatening but that's all it was! Neither Sarah Palin nor John McCain made the threats. They had nothing to do with them. They can't control their crowds anymore than Obama can keep the so-called comedians and you liberals from attacking Palin's children, which he hasn't even tried to do!

Also jokes may be a form of speech but when they cross the line and become slander and libel and insults they're not jokes anymore! They are slander, libel and insults and they do damage and hurt people! They are not funny and CBS and the other networks should stop the comedians from telling jokes that are slanderous! They have a right to speak but they do not have the right to hurt others!

And another thing, Sarah has the same freedom of speech that the comedians have. She has every right to fight back with words and demand apologies for the "jokes" that are told about her and her children! She should have done it long ago!

[mrzerato]

I see that you are on your defamation bandwagon once again. A person may make outrageous statements that could not be true. Because no one would believe such outrageous comments. Do you belive it could happen

Secondly, Bristol and palin are public figures and as such they have a higher standard of proof for defamation. You should know this by all the tabloids you buy. But if you want proof, look at the supreme court case of NY Times v sullivan