Taping tonight's episode of The Late Show, David Letterman took a few minutes to respond to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who called him "pathetic" in a radio interview after he made her and her family the butt of a recent Top 10 list. The late-night host had drawn particular fire from Palin and some pundits for a joke about one of Palin's daughters being impregnated by New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez during a trip to Yankee Stadium. Camp Palin apparently took the joke to be a crack against Palin's 14-year-old daughter Willow, who had recently attended a Yankees game, but Letterman insisted today that the real target was 18-year-old daughter Bristol.
“We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter [Bristol]… and now they’re upset with me…” Letterman says on tonight's show. "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…. 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." Saying he hopes he's "cleared part of this up," Letterman extended an invitation to Palin to come on the show as a guest.
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Comments (1-30) of 1066 Add your comment
To be fair, he also referred to the governor of Alaska as looking “slutty.” Can anyone imagine him making a similar comment about Michelle Obama, for example???
But Michelle Obama looks classy she doesn’t look “slutty” like Palin does.
Letterman is on in my house and will remain on. Palin reminds me of Kate Gosselin. She’ll exploit her own kids to get ahead.
but michelle obama doesn’t look slutty.. palin does..with her whole slutty teacher look…
CBS has finally crossed the bar of indecency. I will NEVER watch Letterman again and I have lodged a complaint to my Congressional and Senate representatives. CBS holds a public license, they need to pull letterman or be heavily fined or both.
kathryn you are insane…he didn’t say anything at all that violates decency standards.. and this is late night tv..
Let’s see someone get away with calling Michelle Obama manly, or saying something derogitory about his daughters without getting investigated by the secret service for a possible “threat” against his family.
it’s a sick double standard. Kids should be off limits no matter which side of the political scale you’re on.
I know letterman hasn’t been funny or relevant since Jay took over the tonight show… but he’s going overboard.
Does anyone really care what he says? He’s made his living making fun of other people. He had his run, it’s over.
Kathryn, you’re an idiot… That’s me practicing my right to free speech. The same free speech Letterman’s entitled to. He took a shot at Sarah Palin, that supposd bastion of “family values,” and her adult daughter. It was funny, in my opinion, and there was nothing obscene in what he said (on a late night comedy show, I might add). Take your self-righteous “moralizing” somewhere else. If you found this offensive, chances are you never watched Dave to begin with. Empty, hollow threat. Then again, “empty” and “hollow” pretty much sum up the funadmentalist mindset.
Regardless of political affiliations,his comments about the Palin’s were so far out of bounds that the word “pathetitic” is insufficient. CBS should let him go before he goes further out of his mind.
It’s inappropriate. If those comments were made about anyone else’s daughter they wouldn’t be tolerated. It should not be defended because next time it could be someone that we like.
Letterman is an old creep who was funny twenty years ago, but is now just mean and pathetic. Obviously, he and his staff knew which Palin daughter attended the Yankees game. So he’s a liar as well as a nasty old man.
Mike… “it’s over”? Funny, Dave’s still going strong and expected to sign a new contract with CBS soon. He usually ran second to Jay, sure, but Dave pulled in the more coveted demographics that advertisers crave. He’s still a cash cow for CBS.
Letterman is lying. If he had made this crack about Obama and his herd, he would have been fired. Give Don Imus his job back, STAT.
I stopped watching Dave several years ago when I finally noticed how mean he’d become. His comments about his single status during his now new wife’s pregnancy were particularly uncomfortable. I was a huge fan from back in the days of his morning show, but have lost respect for him. I’m not buying his explanation re Bristol vs. Willow; it just doesn’t matter. Civilized people do not target the children of others. The fact that he’s a parent himself might have given him a clue if he was still lucid.
Holy Gawd Lady(Kathryn)….go smoke a joint and chill out.
Shaun,
It was in poor taste to suggest that a 14 year old was raped by a Hispanic man!! So what, now all hispanic men are rapists?
Letterman knew he was talking about the 14 year old girl because the 18 year old wasn’t even at the ballgame!
And what the hell does respect have to do with being fundamentalist, btw? Just because we don’t want Letterman making rape jokes about kids we are fundamentalists? Get a life!
Oh, and come on… Plenty of right-wing talking heads have taken their share of potshots at the Obamas, and the Clintons before them, and so on. People like Rush, O’Reilly, Hannity, etc., make crude remarks — including racially charged ones — all the time. I seem to remember Rush (I think) mocking Chelsea Clinton’s appearance when she was still a child. Would you same folks be calling for those talking heads to be pulled off the air? I doubt it.
Way to go Shaun!!!
Empty and hollow!!
What introspection!!
Big deal. Dave Letterman made an offensive joke. He’s made a career doing that. The bigger joke is Palin and her family … they should have their own sitcom, “The Anchorage Hillbillies.”
I’ve never thought David Letterman funny. He IS pathetic. Not a fan of Sarah Palin but I would be livid if those comments were made about a child of mine.
Way to go Shaun!! Empty and hollow!! Wow!!
Great introspection…
David Letterman is a total @$$hole. He stopped being funny years ago and now is nothing but mean and nasty. The only people who watch him are those who share his penchant for meanness and nastiness. He is indeed “pathetic.”
I think it’s funny. I think Palin is about as smart as the creepy guy who lives on the edge of town and has 15 cars, without wheels, in his front yard. Maybe if she were smarter, her kids would be too.
I find it funny how people are so upset over this. Hey get over it it’s a joke. One I find hilarious and the fact that it makes people so angry just makes it funnier. A joke is suppose to push the buttons of what’s “politically right” and it looks like that’s just what it did.
Shaun your right. And wow Patrick you take jokes way to literally. Had he said this seriously the questions you raise would legitimate questions but it was a joke so your questions are unwarranted.
I thought it was a stupid thing to say, if he’s going to make jokes he should at least put effort into making them funny.
That is why I stopped watching his tasteless show for the last few years now, no matter who is on the show
He was talking about a 14 year old girl, for Pete’s sake. What if it was your daughter he made that comment about? How did people lose their moral compasses? Is nothing off limits any longer? Anyone who thinks pedophilia is funny should talk to a victim of it.
Palin does dress slutty and her daughter did get knocked up. What’s the problem?
Comparing the treatment of two people who are in very different situations, is off base. Palin made herself a media target because she is an elected office holder. Palin then decided to run for Vice-President, and when you put your name on a ballot you also put a target on your back for “bad press.”
The first Lady of the United States didn’t have her name on the ballot, she just has to go along for the ride.
To think these two people are in the same situation shows a lack of real understanding.
As far as Palin’s 18 year old daughter, she put herself out there by choosing to do all those magaizine interviews. She allowed the target to be attached to her.
If there on her this tight after the election they must be really worried about her return.slam-on