NEW YORK — Sarah Palin has accepted David Letterman's latest apology for joking that her teenage daughter had sex with baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
"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," the Alaska governor said in a statement.
"Letterman certainly has the right to 'joke' about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction," she continued. "And this is all thanks to our U.S. Military women and men putting their lives on the line for us to secure America's Right to Free Speech — in this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect."
The pair have been feuding ever since the late-night host attempted to make light of Palin's visit to New York last week with her family, which included taking in a Yankees game on June 8.
"An awkward moment during the seventh inning," cracked Letterman on last Monday's "Late Show." "(Sarah Palin's) daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."
After the joke immediately drew criticism from Palin, Letterman spent eight minutes defending himself on the following night's show. He admitted that the joke was crude, but said that it was in reference to Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, who had a child out of wedlock.
"Am I guilty of poor taste? Yes," said Letterman. "Did I suggest that it was OK for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No."
Last night, Letterman issued a second apology to his studio audience.
"It's not your fault that it was misunderstood, it's my fault," he said. "So I would like to apologize, 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. I'm sorry about it and I'll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much."
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