Alaska Governor Sarah Palin says she accepts David Letterman’s apology for sexist jokes about her and her daughter. Even so, organizers of a Fire David Letterman Rally went ahead with their protest yesterday outside the NYC theater where his CBS show is produced.
In a statement, Palin, the 2008 Republican candidate for Vice President, said she accepted Letterman’s apology “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.”
Letterman’s “The Late Show” on CBS had included jokes about Paling buying makeup for her “slutty flight attendant look” and about her daughter being “knocked up” by a professional baseball player as she attended a Yankees game during a New York visit. Letterman said the joke referred to her 18-year-old daughter, who was pregnant during last year’s campaign, but it was her 14-year-old daughter who accompanied Palin and her husband to the Yankees game.
“Letterman certainly has the right to joke about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction. And this is all thanks to our U.S. military women and men putting their lives on the line for us to secure America’s right to free speech – in this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect,” Palin said in accepting the host’s apology.
Although Palin has accepted Letterman’s apology, organizers of the rally and the website firedavidletterman.com aren’t backing down. Activist, film maker and KGIL-AM LA host John Ziegler, who launched the effort, is still demanding that CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves fire or at least suspend Letterman for his remarks.
