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Sarah Palin accepts David Letterman's apology

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-17 09:04

In this Sept. 3, 2008 file photo, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin holds son, Trig, as she talks with her daughter, Bristol, after her family joined her on stage after her speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. At right is daughter, Willow, and in back is Bristol's boyfriend, Levi Johnston. [Agencies]

NEW YORK – Sarah Palin says she accepts David Letterman's apology for the joke he made about her daughter.

The Alaska governor, in a statement issued Tuesday, said the apology was accepted "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."

On his CBS' "Late Show" on Monday night, Letterman said his joke about one of Palin's daughters being "knocked up" by Alex Rodriguez can't be defended.

He said the joke referred to 18-year-old Bristol Palin, not her 14-year-old sister Willow. But Letterman said it's his responsibility that people believed that he intended to target Willow, who had attended a New York Yankees game with her mother.

"I'm sorry about it, and I'll try to do better in the future," he said.

Letterman last week tried to make light of the joke after the first indications that it had fallen flat. Palin had called the comments "sexually perverted," and her husband, Todd, said that "any jokes about raping my 14-year-old are despicable."

Palin said Tuesday that Letterman has the right to joke about whatever he wants to, and "thankfully we have the right to express our reaction."

"This is all thanks to our U.S. military men and women putting their lives on the line for us to secure America's right to free speech," she said. "In this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect."

Not everyone was willing to turn the page.

A "Fire David Letterman" protest was held Tuesday outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, where he tapes the show. The turnout was slim, though: about a dozen.

One of the protesters, New York City real estate agent Tom Muller, said he just wanted "to see a little accountability come to the Letterman show ... And maybe urge him to get back to when he ran a funny TV show and didn't use it for his political pulpit."

Inside the theater, the protest inspired comedy for Tuesday's edition of "Late Show" in the form of "Top Ten Things Overheard at the 'Fire David Letterman Rally.'"

They included:

10. "David who?"

9. "Well, it was nice of CBS to provide the catering."

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