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Letterman vs Palin [photo from UsMagazine.com]
The media—and Governor Sarah Palin—have jumped all over late night talk show host David Letterman due to his comments regarding Sarah Palin’s daughter.
On Monday, Letterman joked of Sarah Palin's recent New York visit that "during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."
The only daughter of Palin’s that attended the Yankees game was fourteen year-old Willow.
Was David Letterman endorsing statutory rape? Letterman says no.
"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," Letterman said.
Sarah Palin, outraged, had this to say:
"Laughter incited by sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is... disgusting," the Alaska governor said in a statement.
As raunchy and outrageous as some comedians can be, are we really to believe that David Letterman genuinely meant to suggest (even via a punchline) that Alex Rodriguez had sex with fourteen year-old Willow Palin?
Really?
Less than a week ago, I wrote an article titled “Is Offensive TV Comedy Dead?" Not only does it seem dead and buried, it seems that the media won't allow it to Rest In Peace, either.
What the media—and Sarah Palin in particular—need to understand is that Letterman is a comedian--he cracks topical jokes at the expense of many people. He’s not out to hurt anyone, but he will take a few jabs that are deemed to be below the belt once in a while. That comes with the territory of comedy and it can often be why we profoundly love it. At times, comedy can be daring, over the line, and yes offensive. The best comedy of this kind, though, will simultaneously challenge our beliefs and values. And even if this Letterman joke merely was for throwaway shock value, there's no question that the American public has seen and heard worse.
Sarah Palin, of all people, should be the least surprised at how words can be offensive. It was less than a year ago that Palin suggested that then Senator Barack Obama “pals around with terrorists.” Muslim rumors spread, and soon people were coming to McCain/Palin rallies and comparing Obama to a monkey. And with yesterday’s news surrounding the horrific murder of a security guard at the US Holocaust Memorial Musuem, we know that true words of hate can result in terrifying actions of violence.
But what Letterman said was not hate speech. It was a joke. A joke in poor taste, but a joke nonetheless.
Let’s move on.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:
1) Why Are Women Blacklisted From Hosting Late Night Talk Shows?
2) The Demise of the Black Dramatic Series
3) Is Offensive TV Comedy Dead?
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Comments
Would you find a joke about someone raping one of Obama's daughters "just a joke?"
First - I didn't vote for Palin.
But, on this one, I'm with her. Offensive comedy has it's place (I suppose), but not in an attack on a teenager (either one of her daughters). When Palin went after Obama, she went after *him* not his kids. And he didn't go after hers - in fact, he vigorously discouraged it. Because it's not fair. Bristol Palin was dragged into the public eye by the media, and doesn't deserve to be a punchline. She's a young women struggling to raise her child and this just wasn't fair. (To say nothing of the fact that Letterman said Palin was improving her "slutty secretary look." Would he say that about another Governor? Is there *anything* "slutty" about Palin?)
Again, not a huge Palin fan, but this was beyond the bounds of decency.
Just read the comment from Moore=less. To add to my previous comment, I don't for a second believe Letterman in any way suggested "rape." The fact that the 14 year old was at the game made the comment sound perverted, yes, but actually I believe Letterman when he says he meant Bristol. But, that doesn't make it right or better. Both are teenagers who aren't elected, aren't celebrities and don't deserve to have sexually-based jokes made about them. Wait 10 years. Would it be fair then to make jokes about Obama's kids getting "knocked up" and chased by a man who chases prostitutes?
Earlier today I thought that perhaps Dave should go on Larry King and explain this further. I take that all back. I don't think Dave needs to explain a thing - it was so obviously simply a joke in poor taste, based around Bristol (who thrust herself into the spotlight through talkshows, etc). And for that matter, where's the photo of Willow actually at the game? I think the Palins jumped at the opportunity to get back at Dave for all of his teasing - but it does make them look rather foolish in the process. I don't think Dave needs to say another word about this - he acknowledged that sometimes they say foolish things but its certainly nothing he should feel compelled to apologize for - after all, who in their right mind would think he would advocate the rape of a 14-year-old girl? Nobody, and that's the point that the Palins, who seem to lack any sense of humor, simply don't get.
Yes, there is something pretty "Slutty" about her. I can't put my finger on it, but she just has that "look". I can't really describe it.
Good points, Jack.
Regarding the comments about would I find jokes about Obama's daughter's to be "just a joke," here are my thoughts.
1) I think we need to not simply infer what Dave was saying, but read what he specifically said. He stated: "During the seventh inning, her [Palin's] daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."
That's not a dirty joke. Like Dave said, we can agree it was in poor taste due to the image it trumps up (a grown man having sex with a underage girl--though Dave claims he was talking about Bristol who is of age). But the joke itself--I've heard worse. I'm not condoning it so much as asking--this is the battle some are choosing to fight?
2) What Palin said at her rally during the election season was far, far worse. Did she talk about Obama's daughters--no. But she didn't crack a joke, either. She was deadly serious about her terrorist comment, and after this week, we all know what kind of awful violence hate speech and slander can lead to
Bristol Palin was dragged into the public eye by her publicity whore mother. And now she sacrifices Willow in order to keep herself front and center in the news.
And... in ten years, if one of Obama's daughters becomes an unwed, teenage mother and the Obama's parade her and the boyfriend in front of the world, then..yes she would be the punchline of many jokes too.
Letterman never mentioned rape...it's the Palin's who decide to link their poor daughter and rape. Very bad parents.
Never heard of the guy who wrote the above but he's missing the point.
This is about what seems to be a sweetheart of a 14 year old having to go to school in the morning.
I have a 15 year old daughter, do you?
Guy should be off the air...
Sorry Moore, but a grown man having sex with an underage girl is, by any definition, rape. It's not simply a joke "in poor taste" as you said in your follow up comments. The fact that you've heard worse jokes or that you think Sarah Palin has said worse and therefore her underage daughter in some sense "asked for it" doesn't make that joke any more acceptable or you any more insensitive. The "asked for it" defence against rape or verbal sexual attack is something from the dark ages, and for you to use it to defend an attack against a 14 year old girl is reprehensible. If you think joking about child sexual abuse on a national TV show is funny, then you don't understand that rape is one the absolute worst hate crimes.
"She was deadly serious about her terrorist comment,"
You obviously are unaware of the connections between Bill Ayers and Obama, Michael. Not to mention Obama's long-time pastor, mentor and idol Reverend Wright. The first was a domestic terrorist, the second a racist, anti-semitic fool who espouses conspiracy theories that would make most conspiratorial people blush.
Some of you are reaching on your comments.
No one had sex with an underage girl--it was a joke about something that wasn't even true. And the idea that anyone "asked for it" is silly in its premise.
And I'm very well versed in the facts regarding Obama, Ayers, and what transpired at the Palin rally in October. There's no question that she was attempting to suggest that Obama was, too, linked with Muslim terrorists. She didn't have to make the connection--it was code, and she knew it would anger and frighten some people away from voting for Obama. When there were already silly Muslim rumors and conjecture swirling, Palin threw more gasoline onto the fire, and it was immensely irresponsible for her to do that.
That is far worse than any joke David Letterman could ever tell.
"There's no question that she was attempting to suggest that Obama was, too, linked with Muslim terrorists."
No, the point is that he had a connection to Ayers, not a Muslim, but still an unrepentant domestic terrorist. This was brought up first at the Democratic debates earlier in the year. It was a legitimate topic that the media ignored so Palin brought up. How do you get Muslim terrorist out of that?
Because I read between the lines.
I'm not suggesting Palin wasn't genuinely talking about Ayers and Weather Underground--she was. But she also knew that throwing out the word "terrorist" amid rumors of Obama being Muslim could spark a fear campaign and make voters leery of Barack.
It's no different than when certain individuals at these rallies were putting an extra emphasis on Obama's middle name, Hussein--they knew exactly what they were doing and why.
I'm sorry - the joke (which is mostly objectionable because it wasn't all that clever) aside, what is patently obvious is that once again, Sarah Palin will exploit any scenario in order to get her face, voice and name into the American consciousness. She supposedly abhors this "biased, liberal" media, yet hardly a month goes by that she's not calling a press conference, releasing an official statement or appearing in a magazine or a show (you can catch her on today's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer belaboring this issue EVEN FURTHER). I object not only to her obvious overreaction to Letterman's joke - I object to her apalling lack of subtlety.
"It's no different than when certain individuals at these rallies were putting an extra emphasis on Obama's middle name, Hussein--they knew exactly what they were doing and why."
I'll agree on the latter though I think it was just the one radio guy from Cincy who did that. But you're simply speculating on the other one and not giving people much credit either. Palin specifically talked about Ayers because that's who she was referring to.
1st: Why is it only liberals children are off limits?
2nd: Letterman is a self admitted liberal, so political jokes take on a different meaning!
3rd: The difference between what Palin has said compared to Letterman, Palin told the truth. Obama has pal'ed around with known terrorists..{Don't argue, it is a fact!}..
4th: As for the monkey thing. This was a very few and I do mean very very few of the people that came to the rallies and this was condemmed by Palin..
5th: As for the Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting, this guy was an neocon hating, Bush bashing {both Bush's}I hate the right wing idiot sicko, so how the liberal press ties him to the republican party still confuses me!
6th: What Letterman said was maybe not hate speech but he got out of it what was intended, more of "we are afraid of her so we must keep bashing her and her family".
Yeah, it's not cool to joke around about having sex with a underage person.
But, Mrs. Palin, is it totally unacceptable to nod your head approvingly when someone at your rally yells out "Kill Him"....or "He's a terrorist".
I have no doubt in my mind that one of these Palin loonies will make an attempt to harm our President before his 1st term is up.
This lady is scary, and the biggest hypocrite I have ever seen.
"when someone at your rally yells out "Kill Him"....
Could you point to the proof of these things occurring? The secret service detail that was there didn't hear it and their investigation found nothing.
Not that this red herring has anything to do with Letterman's so-called jokes, but I'd like to see the evidence anyway.
The only problem I see in your faulty comparison is that Palin was talking about Obama, an adult. The Obama media and Obama's liberal fans which is almost all of Hollywood don't have a problem with tearing Palin's kids apart. Obama's daughters are off limits to the liberal Hollywood group, Palin's children should also be off limits even if you don't agree with her politics. Shame!
There's a reason that you don't see Obama's kids in tons of photographs or video footage--their parents do their best to shield them from that. That's the big difference between Palin and Obama regarding your comment.
Palin pimps out her children to the media to gain a political advantage and increase her visibility (bringing a four-month old to a loud Republican Convention--come on). The Obamas never have, and continue not to be, interested in doing that.
I've seen more media images of Jon and Kate's eight children in the past three weeks (from TV specials to paparazzi pictures) than I have of the Obama children in the past three months.
And while no child deserves verbal attacks (though I firmly believe Letterman was referring to Bristol), if you trot out your family to the media at every given opportunity, you are inviting more attention their way. And some of it might be nasty.
Now we're getting into the realm of pure silliness. Palin's family accompanied her on some of her campaign stops, and so what? That has nothing to do with insinuating that one of her daughters is slut.
Incidentally, the Obama's don't have to use their kids for visibility purposes when the media is already in love with the two of them. That's why I know more about their "date nights" then I do about his thoughts on Iran's nuclear plans.
We're not going to get too deep into a political argument on a TV board. But these buzz words of "rape" and "slut" are a bit much for what actually was indeed said by Letterman.
And Palin absolutely uses her kids as political props--I believe that firmly. That's not to say that she doesn't genuinely love them, though--I have no doubt she does. But she willingly puts her family out for public consumption in hopes of raising her visibility and garnering her high marks in the public's eye.
The Obama's don't do that. Hillary and Bill Clinton didn't do that with Chelsea. And even George and Laura Bush refrained from doing that with daughters Jenna and Barbara.
"But these buzz words of "rape" and "slut" are a bit much for what actually was indeed said by Letterman."
Michael, he said she'd have sex with A-Rod and that they'd have a hard time keeping Elliot Spitzer away from her? What is Spitzer's claim to fame? Frequenting high-priced hookers. What exactly do you think the insinuation is supposed to be there?
I understand the implication that Letterman was making. The difference for me is that he was implying something that wasn't true. The fact that it wasn't true is what allows one to find some levity in an otherwise unnecessary joke.
There was no truth or history in the Palin punchline. If one of Palin's daughter's had been previously raped--the joke is out of bounds. If Alex Rodriguez had a known interest in women under 20, the joke is out of bounds. If Spitzer and Palin's daughter had a close prior relationship, the joke is out of bounds.
But as it stand, it's a joke that had no connection to the real world or any ugly history. We aren't talking about R.Kelly here.
Now if you are someone who is a champion for women's rights, and you're attempting to abolish all jokes towards women that are deemed mean-spirited--that's honorable. If you are cherry picking this particular episode--for whatever your motivations may be--then I think you're choosing the wrong battle to fight
"The difference for me is that he was implying something that wasn't true."
I don't see why that matters. If someone made a joke using racial or ethnic stereotypes that didn't apply to the target, would that make them any less classless or inappropriate?
And I don't who you mean by "you" in your hypothetical. If you mean Palin, I don't know why she isn't allowed to be upset with that kind of insinuation about either of her daughters.
Don't forget that Hillary Clinton demanded an apology from MSNBC last year when one of their hosts said Chelsea was being "pimped out" by the campaign. The phrase obviously wasn't being used in the literal sense, but the host was suspended anyway.
Oh, I think Palin is allowed to be upset. I just think the media coverage and outrage of other people less connected to this issue doesn't equate to the joke itself, even if in poor taste, that was said by Letterman.
sarah palin will be doing these things regularly to try and be as famous as she can get before the next election. I did not hear her or any republican come out in disgust against rusty depass a week ago when he compared michele obama to a gorilla.the republicans can sling it but can't take it.
Michael Langston Moore, it's incredible how you dig yourself deeper and deeper with your comments. You're ridiculously biased.
Thank you Moore=Less and Cam, but don't waste your time and effort responding to Michael. He needs to stick to TV reporting, at least there he won't need to make innane comments.
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