A rally staged by Sarah Palin supporters in protest of the joke Letterman told about her daughter proved to be a giant flop, as well as a ripe comic target for Letterman.
Letterman apologized for the joke on Monday, and Palin accepted, but that didn't satisfy her staunchest loyalists, who showed up in force -- all 30 of them -- to protest outside the Ed Sullivan Theater.
It turned into an incoherent hatefest, with a message that can be distilled to this: Letterman has a "bastard" son and a "slut" for a wife"; he is a verbal pedophile who will "rape children with his mouth"; socialism is evil, FOX News is great, the borders should be closed, and Jay Leno is a better host than Letterman. (Watch video of the protest captured by New York Magazine, as well as Sam Seder's reporting on the "War on Jokes" for Air America's "Break Room Live.")
Letterman responded on his show with self-deprecating humor. He had one of his writers, Joe Grossman, wander out on stage looking for the protest, and he also presented a top ten list poking fun at himself. (Watch video clip)
Top Ten Things Overheard at the "Fire David Letterman" Rally
10. David who?
9. Well, it was nice of CBS to provide the catering.
8. We should have done this years ago.
7. What idiot turned Broadway into a pedestrian mall?
6. Isn't there always a crowd demanding Letterman be fired?
5. March around the potholes, people.
4. Can we also get CBS to bring back "Gunsmoke"?
3. When does Cheney get here with the waterboarding gear?
2. He should apologize for that hairpiece.
1. Thanks for coming, Regis.
Letterman also cracked some jokes in his opening monologue about the protest and controversy:
"It's nice that people hate me who are no longer just part of my immediate family." --David Letterman
"But let's focus on the good news. And the good news is that Sarah Palin has accepted my apology. And she also accepted a $500 gift certificate from LensCrafters. I thought that was a nice touch." --David Letterman
"I'll tell you, to be honest, I was quite nervous about this whole thing. And I was really nervous about an apology to Sarah Palin. So what I did to get my confidence up, to get my nerves to settle down, I rehearsed by apologizing to Tina Fey. That helped. That was a big help." --David Letterman
Read more Letterman jokes...
Previously:
Letterman Apologizes to Palin for Joke About Daughter
Letterman's First Response to Palin Joke Feud
Top 10 Late-Night Jokes About Bristol Palin
All the Letterman-Palin Drama in One Minute
Related:
Latest Late-Night Jokes
Best Sarah Palin Jokes
Best of David Letterman
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Comments
They fired Imus for his comments on a ladies ball team even thou his apology had been accepted. NOW Letterman makes comments even more obscene about a young pregnant teenager, on national TV, then has the gall to call it a joke then makes jokes about the objections and protests. A just lesson in humanities for him would be an old fashion treatment of ‘tar and feathers’, paraded him though Manhattan then run out of town for keeps!!! Oh Yes, fire him from TV forever too
ImaD
Good to see that Christian forgiveness is still going full throttle.