Editing David Letterman (section)

=== Palin joke ===
On June 8 and 9, 2009, Letterman told two sexually themed jokes about a daughter (never named) of [[Sarah Palin]] on his TV show. These included a joke that Palin's daughter had been "knocked up" by MLB player [[Alex Rodriguez]].<ref name="NOW">{{cite news|url  =http://www.now.org/issues/media/hall-of-shame/index.php/television/letterman-palin-daughter| title = Letterman "Jokes" About Palin's Daughter| author = Lisa Bennett| publisher = [[National Organization for Women|NOW]]| date = June 11, 2009| access-date = April 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615051330/http://www.now.org/issues/media/hall-of-shame/index.php/television/letterman-palin-daughter|archive-date=June 15, 2009}}</ref> Palin was in New York City with her then 14-year-old daughter Willow, and none of her other children were at the game, but her 18-year-old daughter [[Bristol Palin|Bristol]] was the one who was pregnant. It was therefore unclear which daughter the joke referred to.<ref name="NOW"/><ref name="Palin vs. Letterman – ABC News" />

In a statement posted on the Internet, Palin said, "I doubt [Letterman would] ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter" and that "laughter incited by sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is disgusting."<ref name="Palin vs. Letterman – ABC News">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/06/palin-vs-letterman|title=Palin vs. Letterman|author=Caitlin Taylor|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=June 11, 2009|access-date=April 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216043242/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/06/palin-vs-letterman|archive-date=February 16, 2012}}</ref> On his June 10 show, Letterman responded to the controversy, saying the jokes were meant to be about Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, whose pregnancy as an unmarried teenager had caused some controversy during the [[United States presidential election of 2008]]. "These are not jokes made about [Palin's] 14-year-old daughter ... I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl."<ref name="Palin vs. Letterman – ABC News"/>

His remarks did not end public criticism. The [[National Organization for Women]] (NOW) released a statement supporting Palin, noting that Letterman had made "[only] something of an apology."<ref name="NOW"/> When the controversy failed to subside, Letterman addressed the issue again on his June 15 show, faulting himself for the error and apologizing "especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/15/AR2009061503131.html|title=One Pregnant-Teen Joke Too Many? Angry Palin Gets Letterman to Apologize|author=Paul Farhi|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 16, 2009|access-date=April 27, 2012}}</ref> Rodriguez demanded an apology for implying that he was a child molester. Letterman never specifically apologized to Rodriguez.<ref>{{cite web|last=Washow |first=Don |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/article/rod-demands-apology-letterman-over-palin-joke/2009/06/16/ |title=A-Rod demands apology from Letterman over Palin joke |work=Anchorage Daily News |date=2009-06-16 |access-date=2022-02-06}}</ref>