David Letterman Apologizes to Palin Family, Everyone 'Outraged' By Joke

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David Letterman took his biggest step to put the furor surrounding his jokes about Sarah Palin's daughters behind him during the taping of his show Monday.

In remarks set to air Monday night obtained by FOXNews.com from a 'Late Show' rep, Letterman directly apologized to the Palin family for the coarse jokes he made last Monday.

"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," Letterman told the studio audience.

Click here to read about the reactions of women's advocacy groups to Letterman's joke.

He went on to explain how he had come to the realization that last week's monologue, in which he joked about one of Governor Palin's teen-age daughters being "knocked up" by New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez, could be interpreted as being in poor taste.

"I thought I was telling it about the older daughter being at Yankee Stadium. And it was kind of a coarse joke. There’s no getting around it, but I never thought it was anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure in fact that she is of legal age, 18. Yeah. But the joke really, in and of itself, can’t be defended."
 
Letterman's mea culpa comes on the heels of New York State Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb's calls to the CEO of CBS to fire David Letterman. In the letter to CBS chief Les Moonves, Kolb said he took Letterman to task for the "shockingly inappropriate" jokes.

“As the proud father of a daughter, and as a husband, I wanted Mr. Moonves to hear from me directly about Mr. Letterman’s disparaging remarks," Kolb said in a written statement.

“Firing Mr. Letterman would send a clear message that CBS will not tolerate any of its employees — even an established media figure like Mr. Letterman — making demeaning and degrading comments about women.”

The talk show host has also been blasted by women's groups

"There's a saying that out of the heart, the mouth speaks, and Letterman's statement reveals a pretty ugly reflection of who Letterman may be," Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, told FOXNews.com.

"When he said those things, they were thought through. He probably kicked them around with his writers who thought it was appropriate to say these reprehensible things."

Whether Letterman's Monday appeal will put an end to the controversy remains to be seen.

Letterman is in a ratings war with new Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien, and while the controversy has given him short-term exposure, it may have long-term negative effects with his viewers.

"As they say about jokes, if you have to explain the joke, it’s not a very good joke," Letterman said from the 'Late Show' stage Monday. "I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception. And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke. It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault."