David Letterman rendered an apology for making a sexually-charged joke last Tuesday that Sarah Palin???s daughter got ???knocked up??? by New York Yankee slugger A-Rod during their recent trip to New York.
The funnyman apologized during Monday’s taping of “Late Night with David Letterman” as a group of Palin supporters planned a Tuesday protest outside the show’s studio at the Ed Sullivan theater in New York’s Times Square. Here’s Letterman’s apology (according to a transcript obtained by Reuters).
I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception of the joke by viewers. 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.
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.
So, what do you gather from this apology? I think Letterman has totally won this battle from every angle. First of all, he has strategically played with words and dumped the entire blame on the viewers – including Sarah Palin – for misunderstanding his “flawless” joke. And second, by rendering an apology at the right time, Letterman not only saved his show but also managed to gather enough publicity in these seven days to keep his show on top for the next seven months!
And who’s the loser? Of course, Sarah Palin. Now that Letterman has rendered an apology, she has no excuse left to stretch this issue any further and enjoy free publicity.
