Letterman Apologizes to Palin for Joke About Daughter
Tuesday June 16, 2009
After facing a barrage of criticism for a telling a joke about Sarah Palin's daughter getting knocked up by Alex Rodriguez, David Letterman apologized on Monday, calling the joke "beyond flawed." (Watch video clip)
Palin took to the airwaves last week to accuse Letterman of making a "sexually-perverted" remark about her 14-year-old daughter, even though it was perfectly obvious to any sentient being that he was referring to Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, who was famously knocked up by a teenage hockey player.
He apologized to Palin and everyone else who was offended by the joke, saying, "I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception."
Following is the complete transcript of Letterman's apology:
"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)
Watch video clip
See Also:
Letterman's First Response to the Palin Joke Flap
Top 10 Late-Night Jokes About Bristol Palin
Best Sarah Palin Humor
Latest Late-Night Jokes
Get Political Humor on Facebook and Twitter
Comments
Stop apologizing Dave. Everyone (including the Palins) knew you were talking about Bristol. No one even knew Willow’s name or age until the Palins brought it up (constantly). It may not have been the smartest joke you ever made but really continuing this thing is just playing into the hands of Sarah the Media Martyr.
Get real! Substitute Michelle Obama or slander her children and you idiots would be screaming like wild banchees. The “joke” was nasty to any woman, no matter her political affiliation. Where is NOW and those who have worked hard against women’s and children’s abuse? Pretty hypocritical. Protect your own and you protect everyone!
As a former LONG TIME fan, I am disgusted at your crude remark. There was NO humor involved….just adolescent filth from an arrogant adult. Hmmm, I wonder how you would feel if someone made similiar jokes about you and your son…especially before you finally legitimized him by marrying his mother.Why don’t you try to at least attempt to be a positive role model for your son? His memory of you, as well as the things he hears and reads about you during his formative years, needs to be positive so that he will not be the victim of negative jokes.
GLC – he’d sit down and take them because he knows that he authorized the jokes by having his son. It’s the fact that Bristol could not that makes them at fault for the squabble.