"We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter, the 18-year-old girl, who is — her name is Bristol, that’s right, and so, then, now they’re upset with me," Letterman said. "These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl. I mean, look at my record. It has never happened. I don’t think it’s funny. I would never think it was funny. I wouldn’t put it in a joke…"
"… Gov. Palin, if you’re watching, I would like you to consider coming to New York City — even Todd — as my guests, or leave Todd at home. I’d love to have you on the show. It’d be exciting. All right, so there, I hope I’ve cleared part of this up. Am I guilty of poor taste? Yes. Did I suggest that it was okay for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No."
Does he need a copy of the transcript?
Absolute. Lack. Of. Class. And. Propriety.
7 comments:
I was pretty horrified when I heard that Top 10 list the other day (they recap it on the news radio station I listen to for traffic & weather).
To be perfectly fair to Letterman, when I heard it, I assumed they were joking about Bristol. I think it's still in appalling taste - I mean, just because the girl had sex with her then-boyfriend doesn't make her promiscuous, which the joke implies - but I am betting that Letterman's joke writers wrote that about Bristol, either not realizing Willow was at the game and could thus be implicated in the joke, or assuming that everyone would get that it was Bristol.
I'd be a lot more sympathetic to Letterman if he'd had the decency to add in even a "sorry for the misunderstanding" kind of half-pology, though...
Kasia - he has
DW,
Sorry sweetheart that was not an apology that was a "Oh crap people are outraged at what I said. I better say something fast, my ratings count on it." Regardless of which daughter it was about it was in the poorest of taste, it’s the kind of thing you would find in the lowest of magazines. Letterman would not make those comments about Michell O. or any other liberal, that I can guarantee.
Anybody asking Letterman about his slut wife? Been married how long now? How many kids? Pots and kettles here yet one walks with no consequences.
It was poor taste - very poor taste. The problem is with his writer's - they stepped over the line and then Dave delivered the joke. Evidently, he needs to preview his monologue much closer. Don't get me wrong, I am NEVER OK with children being the victim - in any way, shape or form. I just think that Letterman is sorry for this joke and the media is making it much larger than it should be.
It would be best for the Palin girl if this was NOT on every single TV, radio channel and all other medias. All this attention just enhances the pain and embarrassment for the child.
DW -
You mean something other than what he was quoted as saying in the article? 'Cause that sounded like a clarification (or CYA, choose your level of cynicism), but I didn't see anything that approached even a hollow-pology in that text, which is all I presently have to go on.
DW -
I do agree with you that it would be best for Willow if this weren't all over the media.
And while I don't blame Gov. Palin for not accepting his invitation, I also doubt that he poses any kind of danger to Willow (apart from reminding her of the situation), which she sort of implied in her response.
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