After a couple of attempts at apologizing for a joke he made in bad taste, David Letterman has been forgiven.The New York Associated Press recently reported that Gov. Sarah Palin has publicly accepted Letterman’s apology for making a sexual joke targeted at her daughter.Though Letterman may be out of the headlines for the moment, his sexist remarks have drawn criticism from more than just an upset parent.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) has been instrumental in drawing attention to the dangers Letterman’s remarks pose to women.Letterman joked on his show that Gov. Palin’s daughter “was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez” during a recent trip to a New York baseball game and that Gov. Palin had a hard time “keeping Elliot Spitzer away from her daughter.”NOW discusses on their website how Letterman contributes to exploitation of women by saying, “The sexualization of girls and women in the media is reaching new lows these days ? it is exploitive and has a negative effect on how all women andgirls are perceived and how they view themselves.”
David Letterman first responded to criticism by apologizing for the jokes, but adding that he never meant the remarks to be targeted at Palin’s younger daughter, Willow (who is only 14), but rather at her 18-year-old daughter, Bristol.The media soon shot back that this was not really an apology and that Letterman only clarified who he targeted the offensive remarks at.
David Letterman’s second, more serious, apology appeared to be brought on by protestors who called to have him fired.The protestors, who formed outside the Letterman studio, were so well organized that they even have a website called www.FireDavidLetterman.com.The website is still actively reporting on the recent media attention Letterman’s jokes have received.
Gov. Palin accepted Letterman’s second apology before adding, “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.”
What do you think of the jokes David Letterman made about Gov. Palin’s daughter?
Do you think Letterman’s jokes warranted all of the negative press they received?
Seems like it was all taken out of whack & hyped up to much, to me...
momabear::
on Jun 22, 2009
I saw the show I though it was a funny joke,not to be said to hurt anyone.I would be real pleased not to see or hear from Gov. Palin again she never has any thing good to say she makes me sick.
srg1214::
on Jun 22, 2009
Personally, I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion. First of all, David Letterman is a comedian. He makes fun of people for a living. Sarah Palin took the initiative to put her family in the media. Unfortunately, some of the stories about her family have been negative. Comedians take those negative stories and make jokes about them. If you don't want the negative attention, don't put yourself out there. Also, he clarified that he was talking about the older daughter and that he never meant to imply that it was okay for a 14-year-old and a grown man to have any type of sexual relationship. This by no means makes him a pedophile. Sarah Palin really needs to get over herself. She LOVES the drama. Thank God she is not in the White House.
Pepperjune::
on Jun 23, 2009
I think it was of very bad taste.And showed extreme low class on Lettermans part.
It doesnt matter which daughter the joke was intended for.
I think its interesting that people think that Sarah Palin blew it out of proportion.
They would be talking out of the other side of their mouths if this joke would have been told about one of the Obama daughters.
jemappel::
on Jun 23, 2009
Pepperjune, of course people would have more of a fit if it were Sasha and Malia b/c they are ages 8 and 10. If Bristol were a more responsible person, she would not have jokes pointed at her.
pursegal::
on Jun 23, 2009
I think it was blown out of proportion and was a poor attempt on Sarah Palin's part to keep her name in the news.
BMDsMommy::
on Jun 23, 2009
David Letterman was WRONG! He made it worse by explaining the joke the first time around instead of just saying he was sorry for it. I have been a viewer of his show for many years, and after this whole thing, I refuse to watch him anymore. This is the first time he has said something in bad taste, and this won't be the last! Imas can't say what he feels, why can Letterman?
shellgirl1961::
on Jun 23, 2009
I agree that David Letterman should not have made that joke and that it was in bad taste. But at the same time, it would have blown over if Palin woud have kept quiet about it and not blown it all out of proportion. People would have forgotten it sooner if she had not made a big deal about it and got the media in on it.
grynchlyx::
on Jun 23, 2009
This whole escapade was another obvious attempt at Palin trying to keep her name in the news. Any way she can. She's so pathetic the way she uses her family to continuously keep her name in soundbites....It's so blatant it's sad. Anyone else would have commented on it, or better yet ignored the matter and left it alone...but since Palin's so desperate for publicity...ANY publicity, let's keep harping on it. Letterman made a joke about her daughter...which was actually funny given the fact that she's not so "pure" to begin with; after all Palin's got a new grandchild to prove it. The hypocrisy from people so outraged over the joke amuses me to no end. I heard many worse and crass jokes about her daughter well before this (from many comedians) when her family's latest scandal broke and not a peep from the Palin camp. I was actually angry Letterman apologized, as there was no need to do so.
radar525::
on Jun 24, 2009
Yes, it may have been a tasteless joke on Letterman's part, but people need to remember that part of this woman's political platform was that teaching abstinence was the ONLY way to go when discussing sexual education with children. If Palin couldn't get that message through to her own child, it's probably a good thing she is not in a position to make changes to the system. Children like to do the opposite of what they are told not to do. At least make sure they are educated to make a good choice in contraceptives if they do make a "negative" choice to have sex (instead of abstinence). I'm not sure if Letterman need to apologize so profusely to Palin. The "marriage" that was to happen did not, and it seems that all the media Palin gets is through her daughter and grandchild. Why can't she just fade into obscurity like the rest of the candidates???
