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Letterman Lies In Dubious On-Air Apology To Palin



Jun 15, 2009 13 Comments ›› Pat Dollard

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The Live Feed:

David Letterman re-addressed the controversy surrounding his jokes about Sarah Palin’s family during the taping of CBS’ “Late Show” on Monday.

Letterman said he had no idea Palin was at the Yankees game with her 14-year-old daughter, Willow, when he joked about her getting “knocked up” by player Alex Rodriguez last week.

“I had, honestly, no idea that the 14-year-old girl, I had no idea that anybody was at the ball game except the governor, and I was told at the time she was there with Rudy Giuliani,” Letterman said. “It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault. … So I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke.”

The comedian’s jokes about Palin’s family have caused an uproar, with Palin doing several interviews last week criticizing the talk show host. One CBS advertiser reportedly pulled its ads in response to the protests, some of which have demanded that CBS fire Letterman. The network is on the verge of giving Letterman a two-year contract extension that will keep him on the air through 2012.

“I understand, of course, why people are upset; I would be upset myself,” Letterman said. “I’m sorry about it and I’ll try to do better in the future.”

Below is the full text of Letterman’s latest comments which will be telecast on “The Late Show” tonight.

“All right, here – I’ve been thinking about this situation with Governor Palin and her family now for about a week – it was a week ago tonight, and maybe you know about it, maybe you don’t know about it. But there was a joke that I told, and I thought I was telling it about the older daughter being at Yankee Stadium. And it was kind of a coarse joke. There’s no getting around it, but I never thought it was anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure in fact that she is of legal age, 18. Yeah. But the joke really, in and of itself, can’t be defended. The next day, people are outraged. They’re angry at me because they said, ‘How could you make a lousy joke like that about the 14-year-old girl who was at the ball game?’ And I had, honestly, no idea that the 14-year-old girl, I had no idea that anybody was at the ball game except the governor and I was told at the time she was there with Rudy Giuliani … and I really should have made the joke about Rudy …” (audience applauds) “But I didn’t, and now people are getting angry and they’re saying, ‘Well, how can you say something like that about a 14-year-old girl, and does that make you feel good to make those horrible jokes about a kid who’s completely innocent, minding her own business,’ and, turns out, she was at the ball game. I had no idea she was there. So she’s now at the ball game, and people think that I made the joke about her. And, but still, 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, and you can’t really be doing jokes like that. And I understand, of course, why people are upset. I would be upset myself.

“And then I was watching the Jim Lehrer ‘Newshour’ – this commentator, the columnist Mark Shields, was talking about how I had made this indefensible joke about the 14-year-old girl, and I thought, ‘Oh, boy, now I’m beginning to understand what the problem is here. It’s the perception rather than the intent.’ It doesn’t make any difference what my intent was, it’s the perception. And, as they say about jokes, if you have to explain the joke, it’s not a very good joke. And I’m certainly – ” (audience applause) “– thank you. Well, my responsibility – I take full blame for that. I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception. And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke. It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault. That it was misunderstood.” (audience applauds) “Thank you. So I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke. I’m sorry about it and I’ll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much.” (audience applause).


  • http://www.myspace.com/idcchief MarineDoc

    A week to late their bub!

  • YERMOM

    the real issue here is that Don Imus was fired when he called some young black girls nappy headed hos….these girls were older than Palin’s daughters. and Imus’ “joke” didn’t allude to the rape of a young girl.

    Dave had the right to tell the joke, just like Imus. Dave deserves to be fired also.

    One set of standards is what it comes down to.

    • Blade Runner

      There’s one problem with that comparison. Imus made the comment “off the cuff”, spontaneously, like an emotional reaction, and when he apologized he was sincere, no double talk. Letterman, on the other hand, was prepared, the jokes were scripted, printed, he entered the studio with them in his hand, and he knew well before hand what he was going to say. His apology was the lamest dance around I have ever seen.

  • http://n/a rightside

    Imus gets fired and Letterman gets a 2 year extension in his contract. Just like I said before this will blow over and by this time next year he will get an award for best comedy for his time slot.

    • JayMS

      I don’t think he’s getting off so easily. He never would have made the same candy-assed apology twice. I am certain their have been many “animated” conversations behind closed doors. CBS has already lost one sponsor for that time slot and those that are still there probably have voiced their displeasure.

      I prefer Letterman stay onboard knowing that Palin and her grassroots supporters nailed his balls to the wall on this one. Maybe other assholes like him will think twice before deciding to say stupid shit about Bristol, Willow, or Piper.

  • Dean, aka SgtJenz

    The penis with glasses should have never said anything in the first place…dickhead.

  • amy

    This apology was all over the map. Last week he said he thought Bristol was at the game. This week, he didn’t know anybody but Guiliani was there. So now he’s apologizing to both of the girls.
    Basically, this is the way I understand it: it’s ok if it was a joke about Bristol because she got pregnant. Fuck off Dave.

  • Sully

    What a load of crap from a POS with no balls.
    Apologize like a man or go the fuck away dipshit.

  • ji

    No Liberal should be on TV.
    FIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE Him.

  • Ivan the Kafir

    I will say that I believe in the First Amendment whole-heartedly. This means that the people have a right to protest when they are offended by another person’s use of the First Amendment. I am rather pleased that such pressure was put on a couple sponsors as to cause them to pull their time slots. This is the kind of activism the people need to become accustomed to exercising on a regular basis! :beer: :beer: :beer:

  • vincenzo4

    We must read words used and body language. He was forced to apologize, and even in doing so he was deceptive. Read every word of his quotes very slowly.

    It is amazing how phony is the left. They betray, systematically and passionately everything they supposedly support. They are deadly.

  • Zee

    Excuse me, I agree with all your sentiments but there are those of us on the left squawking about Gutterman’s vile sexist comments and his lies, too. His “second apology” is one lie after another! First, he claims it was one joke, about A-rod. Lie. He milked that same joke for two nights, essentially calling Willow a whore by making her the target of Eliot Spitzer, also. RealClearPolitics caught both “jokes.”
    Then, by his own admission, Gutterman says he didn’t know Willow was with her mom till the “next day” when many people chided him about targeting a 14 year old. Even if that were true, which is highly doubtful, why then, after he’d been informed, did he target Willow again, the next night? And where is his apology for the Spitzer joke, when he can no longer claim not to have known. He called Willow a whore and needs to be called to the mat for every last lie.
    Even his mother sides with the Palins.

    • DoubleTap

      Zee, there is no defense for any comment in this vein. I don’t care if it is conservative or liberal. Personal attacks on children with the reference to rape is unacceptable from anyone. If you are not willing to write the network/station/sponsors to demand an apology or more serious action, then nothing will be done.

      You, my dear, need to understand that conservatives are not opposed to correcting their own when they are wrong. Unlike the left we have a common understanding of reasonable ethics and morals that we will enforce among our own ranks when needed. The left, as is very obvious in this issue with Letterman, are quite happy to just wave it off and make excuses for the fool.

      If you don’t like it, do something about it. If tens of thousands of outraged conservatives had not contacted the sponsors and the network about this, nothing would have come of the issue and it would have been ignored as liberals tend to do in these situations.

      So, what are YOU going to do about it?