Sarah Palin accepts Letterman apology
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has accepted late-night TV host David Letterman's apology over a sexually charged joke about her teenage daughter.
"Of course it's accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve," Palin said in a statement late on Monday night.
"Letterman certainly has the right to 'joke' about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction," she said.
On the occasion of a Palin trip to New York, Letterman joked on June 8 that New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez had "knocked up" Palin's daughter during a family trip to a baseball game. The comedian apologized for the joke on his show broadcast on Monday night.
Letterman has said the joke's intended target was Palin's daughter Bristol, an 18-year-old unwed mother, but Palin and others have said it was aimed at her younger daughter, 14-year-old Willow, who was at the baseball game in New York.
In his apology, Letterman said the joke was "beyond flawed" and apologized to Palin and bother daughters.
Palin last year was the vice presidential nominee on the Republican ticket, running alongside Arizona Sen. John McCain.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
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