Sarah Palin Accepts Letterman's Apology

from Herald; Rock Hill, S.C. ..

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.

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 still was planned Tuesday for outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, where he tapes the show.

Although Bristol, an unwed mother, was the target of his joke, Letterman didn't name her when it was originally made on June 8.

It was "a coarse joke," "a bad joke," Letterman told viewers. "But I never thought it was (about) anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure, in fact, that she is of legal age, 18."

"The joke, really, in and of itself, can't be defended," he declared.

If there's a misconception that he was making the joke about a 14- year-old, Letterman said he understands why people are upset. "I would be upset myself," he said.

"I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke," he said. "It's not your fault that it was misunderstood, it's my fault that it was misunderstood."

Letterman said he got a call from his mother earlier in the day telling him she was siding with Palin.

Sacha Baron Cohen poses nude on cover of GQ

NEW YORK Sacha Baron Cohen strips down as his naked alter ego -- the flamboyantly gay Austrian fashionista Bruno -- for the July cover of GQ magazine.

The actor-comedian's 2006 movie, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," was a surprise box-office hit.

His new film, "Bruno," is scheduled for release July 10.

Baron Cohen staged a prank at the recent MTV Movie Awards, decending in character as Bruno from the ceiling on a wire in a fake mishap that ended with his bare hindquarters in rapper Eminem's face. Eminem stormed off in a huff, but later said he was in on the joke.

Celebrity birthdays

- Actor Peter Lupus of TV's "Mission: Impossible" is 77.

- Actor Mark Linn-Baker of "Perfect Strangers" is 55.

- Director Bobby Farrelly of "There's Something About Mary" is 51.

- Actress Kami Cotler of "The Waltons" is 44.

- Actor Jason Patric is 43.

- Comedian Will Forte of "Saturday Night Live" is 39.

- Actor-rapper Herculeez of Herculeez and Big Tyme is 26.

Originally published by Wire reports.

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