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Sarah Palin vs David Letterman: Who is the most offensive? (Vote in our poll)
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A match made in hell: David Letterman & Sarah Palin
(Photos: Getty Images)
Sarah Palin and David Letterman are at it again. On his Monday night show he said Mrs. Palin, visiting New York to be honored by a special needs organization, has the style of "a slutty flight attendant." Then he made a joke about her daughter traveling with her:
One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."
Major faux pas. Mr. Letterman thought he was joking about 18-year-old Bristol Palin — who was pregnant and unmarried during the 2008 presidential campaign — but it was 14-year-old Willow Palin who was in town with her mom.
Mrs. Palin was furious. She fired off a statement to Fox News, accusing Mr. Letterman of making "sexually perverted" comments that he would never make about anyone else’s daughter. She said:
Acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone's daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others."
Her husband, Todd Palin, went even further:
"Any ‘jokes’ about raping my 14-year-old are despicable. Alaskans know it, and I believe the rest of the world knows it, too."
Mr. Letterman did not apologize for the joke. Instead, he said on his show that he made a mistake about which daughter was in town:
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. ... 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…"
He invited Mrs. Palin or her husband to come on his show and talk about it, but they refused, saying they "have no intention of providing a rating's boost" for Mr. Letterman by appearing on his show.
So there you have it. A full-fledged smackdown.
We object to jokes that characterize women as slutty (there's no equivalent language for men), but the joke about Bristol was obviously a case of mistaken identity. And the Palins' characterization of it as a perverted reference to raping a minor was an opportunistic overreaction. Mrs. Palin should know better than anyone how easy it is to make a mistake and then have it blown out of proportion. After all, she made many during her campaign. Has she forgotten referring to Africa as a country on national TV?
Honestly, we think both parties are being ridiculous. But you tell us, whom do you find the most offensive?
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