Did David Letterman's joke about Sarah Palin's daughter go too far?

Yes

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by Dennis Krivda

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In the grand scheme of things, a solitary late-night comedian trading barbs with a political figure typically ranks pretty low on the importance scale. We all know that. Everyone knows that all the world's a stage and comedians have talked smack about politicians on that stage since the day humanity invented both politics and satire. In fact, we actually expect our comedians to ridicule our public figures because such mockery most often tempers our celebrities, athletes, and politicians with a bit of humility.

Ordinarily, such satire presents no big deal because we certainly have plenty of far more important issues to grapple with on this rapidly changing planet. Occasionally, though, an incident of satire transcends that proverbial stage and does present us with a big deal. Sometimes the banter between ordinary and not-so-ordinary people generates a real discussion of real issues.

David Letterman's mockery of Alex Rodriguez, Eliot Spitzer, and Sarah Palin's daughter is one such case

The comedian's joke pointlessly impugned Alex Rodriguez; cavalierly assaulted Eliot Spitzer; and shamelessly besmirched the reputation of a minor. By stating or suggesting that those older men had sex (or wanted to have sex) with a minor, Letterman automatically elevated the case well beyond the trivial nature of late-night satire. His baseless declaration and/or suggestion of pedophilia instantly made the joke a big deal for everyone. Satire and comedy notwithstanding, everybody should express deep concern over the idea that someone (anyone) can take as much liberty with the lives and reputations of innocent people as they feel necessary just to boost television ratings.

Clearly, we cannot grant our comedians, police officers, or even our neighbors the permission to simply say whatever they like about us - especially when their claims gravely damage an innocent reputation. And Letterman did just that in his jibe about Sarah Palin's daughter. He declared that Rodriguez impregnated her daughter at a recent Yankees game, and he continued by saying that Sarah Palin had the most difficulty keeping Eliot Spitzer away from the girl while visiting New York.

After Letterman's barbs hit the airways on the Late Show with David Letterman, Governor Palin immediately launched her protest that the comic had gone too far this time. She rightfully felt that his lampoon of her daughter was inappropriate because her daughter (Willow Palin) is only fourteen years old.

The Letterman camp initially tried to deflect the governor's criticism by claiming that the late-night host was referring to Bristol Palin with his joke because of Bristol's widely publicized teen pregnancy. Unfortunately for the Late Show with David Letterman, Bristol Palin was not at the Yankees game with her mother that day. In fact, Bristol Palin was not even in New York at the time. The only daughter that Rodriguez could have impregnated during the seventh inning was the fourteen year-old Willow Palin who did attend the Yankees game that day. The only daughter that Eliot Spitzer might have gone sexually gaga over was the fourteen year-old Willow Palin who was traveling with her mother at the time.

At this point, David Letterman should just apologize like a man; admit that it was a huge mistake; and then promptly fire the writer, the editor, and the fact checker behind this misguided attempt at humor.

Somewhere, somehow, somebody made a mistake - and it certainly was not Willow Palin.

David Letterman enjoys a large audience. People love him and his brand of humor. And with that popularity in mind, the late-night host deserves the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he honestly was referring to Bristol Palin with the joke about pregnancy and Alex Rodriguez?

Unfortunately, such a defense of truly tasteless humor still falls short of absolving Letterman of sin in this case. By claiming that he was talking about Bristol and not Willow, Letterman hides behind a shield of duplicitous ignorance. In other words, he's allowing that he didn't know that Willow attended the game. He genuinely expects his audience and critics to believe that he and his team didn't realize that fourteen year-old Willow - not Bristol - attended the Yankees game with her mother. If Letterman's staff legitimately did not know that it was Willow at the game then professional responsibility, courtesy, and plain old common sense would dictate that Letterman's team of writers should have researched the topic before airing their punch lines.

Why? Because of exactly what Late Show with David Letterman faces right now.

Through their jokes about men having sex with Sarah Palin's daughter, the writers for Letterman's show have wrongfully insinuated that Alex Rodriguez is a pedophile who has impregnated a minor. And they've suggested that Eliot Spitzer would do the same if given the chance. By not responsibly checking their facts, Letterman's writers have allowed that the fourteen year-old daughter of a governor would either willingly or unwillingly be part of a genuinely sordid scene where an adult man would engage in sex with a minor at a Major League Baseball game.

Whether they targeted Bristol or Willow with such a joke really doesn't matter because (through their failure to check facts) the writers have allowed for the interpretation of Willow as the target of such perverse ridicule. In other words, the writers intentionally left the door open so the audience could believe that Letterman was joking about the under-aged daughter of Governor Palin. (After all, Willow was the daughter enjoying the ball game with her mother - not Bristol. And at least one audience member believed Letterman was talking about Willow when he mouthed the joke: her mother.)

For that incriminating reason alone, David Letterman has gone too far. He and his staff should have axed the jokes as soon as they realized that the younger daughter might be viewed as the target of their humor.

If his staff never recognized that possibility, Letterman obviously has big troubles. If they did recognize the possibility of victimizing a fourteen year-old girl with such jokes and still proceeded with the bit then Letterman has even bigger troubles. On top of that, it is entirely possible that they actually were talking about Rodriguez impregnating the fourteen year-old Willow. Now the folks at the Late Show with David Letterman simply refuse to admit their mistake.

Either way, Letterman loses.

David Letterman should man-up by at least issuing a profuse and sincere apology to Willow Palin and Alex Rodriguez as soon as possible.

That apology notwithstanding, Alex Rodriguez and Sarah Palin should respond by suing David Letterman and the staff of the Late Show with David Letterman for defamation - whether the defamation was intentional or not. Such a lawsuit would remind all satirists, comics and bullies across the land that they cannot say or suggest whatever they like about innocent people just for the sake of their sordid entertainment.

Our freedom of speech (including political satire) comes with a price. And that price is responsibility. Clearly, that's a notion which David Letterman and his writers might want to review.

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