Letterman responding to the reactions of Todd and Sarah Palin regarding his jokes about Willow. He tried to defend himself. Oh well, the joke was about Bristol Palin, not Willow you see. Then that’s just ok then. The problem is that it was Willow, the 14-year-old, not Bristol, the 18-year-old who was with them in New York. So to feign, “oh why are you upset? I wasn’t talking about Willow.” Get your facts straight, ignorance of the facts isn’t an excuse.
HT: Fausta for the video who said:
Then he asked,
“would I do anything advocate or contribute to underage sexual abuse or misconduct? Absolutely not, not in a thousand years!”
But is he all for “advocating or contributing” to the sexual abuse of women over the age of eighteen.
That is just so much better, right? No. Whether he meant Willow or Bristol is beside the point. Misogyny is still misogyny, whether it was directed toward a 14-year-old or an 18-year-old, or a 45-year-old doesn’t matter and it seems as though it is an ever-present theme in Letterman’s jokes. This is an issue within our society that needs to be addressed.
Allahpundit points out the flawed logic in his response:
Don’t you see? He’d never condone statutorily raping a girl who’s underage. All he meant to do was goof on the idea that Palin’s eldest daughter, a single mother with a baby, is a whore.
Very classy let me tell you, at least he realizes his jokes are in poor taste – unfortunately he said that just to get a few more laughs. Which also bothers me, what does it say about our society that we laugh at this crap? Not long ago I went with some friends from high school to the Funny Bone in West Des Moines. Comic, after comic came up and spewed the same sex-ridden crap in order to get cheap laughs. It is sad this is what comedy has devolved to. I’ve since been called by the Funny Bone on two separate occasions having won free tickets and I’ve declined both times. I simply will not support that type of comedy. Period.
One commenter I had yesterday, Writeonbro, mentioned:
Shane…Shane…Shame on you. I thought as a conservative you would protect not thread on Dave’s right to free speech. We really don’t want to resurrect "ye ol’ office of censorship" at any cost.
He and I normally see eye to eye most of the time, but I did want to respond in a post to this type of argument as to why I am speaking out against Letterman and this mindset. I’m not saying get the government involved. There have been a few that are saying “report him to the FCC!” That is the wrong approach. I don’t want the government to be involved. He does have the constitutional right to make his vile jokes. I also have a constitutional right to protest.
Letterman doesn’t have a “right” to get paid to make those comments however. So I’d encourage you to keep contacting CBS:
- General CBS contact form can be found here.
- "Lateshow" feedback form can be found here.
- Call CBS: 212-975-4321
CBS bigwig contact addresses:
And contact his sponsors – some can be found here and here. And I’ll update if I become aware of more info.
The only thing funny about last night’s piece is when he said “this may be my last show.” Oh I sincerely hope so.
Though maybe stay on long enough for Todd Palin to sit down for an interview with him. That would be entertaining.
Update: On Facebook, a statement from Meghan Stapleton, Palin’s SarahPAC spokesperson.
"The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman."
I had hoped, but didn’t expect David Letterman would man up and apologize. He just proved he is a boor and a coward. Real men don’t make comments like this, whether they are jokes or not. Keep the pressure on it is working!
2nd Update: Embassy Suites takes their CBS website ads down. Keep up the pressure!