David Letterman,  Sarah Palin

David Letterman Apologizes AGAIN to Sarah Palin and Her Daughters?

David Letterman apologizes to Sarah Palin and daughters, June 15, 2009

So, was this another apology by David Letterman for the crude jokes he made about Sarah Palin and her daughters, Willow and Bristol?

Here is the text of the 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).

Kind of a half-assed, lawyerized approach wouldn’t you say?

Letterman received his bump in the Nielsen ratings and now is trying to stem protests and loss of sponsors due to his outrageous jokes about the Sarah Palin daughters.

David Letterman’s comments about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and one of her daughters has prompted a hotel chain to pull its advertising on CBS’ website — and spawned a campaign to fire the Late Show host that includes a planned protest outside his studio.

Embassy Suites, part of the Hilton Hotels Corp., pulled advertising on CBS’ site because of complaints, company spokeswoman Kendra Walker told TVGuide.com. The company was not an advertiser on Letterman’s show.

“We received lots of e-mails from concerned guests and we assessed that the statement that he made was offensive enough to our guests and prospective guests that we elected to take the ads down,” Walker said. She declined to release the cost of the ads.

CBS declined to comment Tuesday.

I mentioned when Letterman first broadcast the New York Yankee – Alex Rodriguez “Knocked Up” joke that he had confused the Palin daughters. It was 14 year old Willow who attended the game with her mom and accompanied by Mayor Rudy Giuliani. However, it is hard to believe that Letterman does NOT have a top flight research staff and could not have easily corrected the joke directed at a minor or issue a statement within hours.

This second NON-APOLOGY lacks credibility.

So, what happens next?

  • Letterman will endure some protests and lose some sponsors of his show – as will CBS. His contract will be renewed for another two years and he will NOT even be suspended.
  • Sarah Palin will gain some political points by being a sympathetic figure and attention will be drawn to the media who have bashed her incessantly since she was nominated as Vice President.
  • Conan O’Brien will continue to win the late night rating’s war.

Previous:

Does the David Letterman – Sarah Palin Flap Help Letterman in the Television Ratings?

Day By Day by Chris Muir June 12, 2009 – Contemporaries

Senator John McCain Defends Sarah Palin Against David Letterman’s Jokes

Video: David Letterman Defends Jokes About Sarah Palin and Her Daughters

Sarah and Todd Palin Respond to David Letterman’s Crude Joke About Their Daughter

Audio: Rudy Giuliani on Sarah Palin

NBC’s Early Today Bags on Sarah Palin for Calling David Letterman Pathetic As Letterman Calls Palin’s Daughter a Prostitute

Video:
Letterman Stays Classy – Mocks Sarah Palin’s Daughter as “Knocked Up”

Sarah Palin’s Trip to New York – Updating That “SLUTTY” Flight Attendant Look


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