Letterman’s Palin-gate
David Letterman has been known for his humor on his late night talk show for years. Some jokes were “ha-ha,” politically correct funny, while others you simply laughed at because you were supposed to. Then, at other times, as all comedians will do, Letterman and his writers pushed the boundaries and came up with material that had the potential to cause some serious backlash, and sometimes both.
Reuters reports Letterman’s snafu is a joke about A-Rod that uses the Palin clan as a punchline. Taking a stab at A-Rod’s history of swinging his bat and home running with all sorts of women, Letterman joked about A-Rod ‘knocking up’ Alaskan Gov. Palin’s daughter during a family visit to Yankee stadium.
As most grocery shoppers have by now read through our wondrous collection of tabloids, Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol is a mother out of wedlock and has unfortunately had her personal life invaded by the media for ignorant dissection, all to pass judgment on someone who has nothing to do with politics other than relation (while on the contrary, you barely hear about the Obama kids).
Unfortunately for Letterman, the 18-year-old Bristol was not the Palin daughter at the game, but the 14-year-old Willow Palin. By making the off-color joke, Letterman unwittingly tried to create humor about a very taboo subject, riling up people who care. Needless to say, anti-Letterman protests have ensued, all while his ratings took off.
Maybe Letterman’s gamble will pay off.
Rob @ June 16, 2009