"Fire David Letterman" Protest Becomes Hatefest, Draws More Media Than Protesters

Tuesday afternoon's "Fire David Letterman" rally proved to be a failure, as it drew more press than activists, CNN reports:

A crowd of 15 protesters upset with the late night comic held signs and occasionally shouted as they stood across the street from Letterman's studio.

But they were often hidden from view by the more than 35 members of the media there to cover the protest, and out-shouted by a few very vocal counter-protesters.

New York Magazine videographer Jonah Green was one of those press members, and he captured a disturbing video of several of those protesters in hate-filled rants against the CBS "Late Show" host.

Among the more alarming lines of attack -- particularly given that the rally was held because Letterman supposedly made a joke about Sarah Palin's teenage daughter Willow -- was that Letterman's son Harry was born out of wedlock (he recently wed Regina Lasko after dating for over a decade).

"Should we talk about his son?" one protester asked Green. "I believe his son was born out of wedlock. I believe there's a term for that."

"Is someone making jokes about his child?" asked another. "Especially, you know, when he had a daughter out of wedlock himself" (he didn't; 5-year-old Harry is his only child).

"How dare he?" asked yet a third, the most offensive of all. "When he has a bastard son, and a slut for a wife" (Letterman's wife Lasko has kept a notoriously low profile).

It should be noted that Sarah Palin's teenage daughter Bristol gave birth to baby Tripp (out-of-wedlock) in December and broke up with the baby's father, Levi Johnston, in March.

Other conservative talking points thrown around at the rally included, "Close the borders!" and "I only watch Fox News," as well as the general sentiment that Jay Leno is a better host than Letterman.

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Comments

[brandon102]

09:37 AM on 07/13/2009

I am so tired of the Republican­s and their constant hatred of this and that, and saying "no" to everything­, and wanting to take the country back to the dark ages.

As these wingnuts were complainin­g about a few Letterman jokes, why didn't someone ask them about all the Repub members of Congress who are cheating on their wives while blocking America's progress?

Do Republican­s think this country made progress under Bush & Cheney? Well, if they did that's their opinion, but it's no reason they have to spread hatred and ignorance (or ignorance of their ignorance) wherever they go. Let's get a bit unified here and make some progress.

[dartagnan]

07:25 PM on 06/20/2009

Illustrati­ng why I watch Letterman and never, never, EVER will watch Leno.

[DMcD]

07:11 PM on 06/20/2009

Given CBS's management­'s pitiful weak-kneed history of buckling under pressure and not 'standing by their man' no matter the illigitima­cy of the criticisms (The Smothers Brothers / Dan Rather fiascos for example) , I'm 'amazed' that CBS hasn't already thrown Dave to the dogs .... and I do mean "dogs". I'm hoping that for once in recent history (post-Chro­nkite) , CBS will draw a line in the sand on this one.

Dave is whats good about America ..........­..... Palin; not so much (a walking punchline to be exact).
.

[sdilmoak]

05:41 PM on 06/20/2009

As an Alaskan, I say THANK YOU to all you "lower 48'ers" who are finally seeing and understand­ing what we are living through up here with this joke of a governor. Our Legislatur­e will do nothing to stop this outlandish­, manipulati­ve, pathetic sham. I am hoping the FBI and IRS are on the scene in regards to highly questionab­le legal trust funds with one trustee (her best friend, who's own mother was convicted of embezzling over $700,000 from two trust funds in Canada and Iowa) and her income tax returns for the last 16 years while being involved with Arctic Cat. This person must be stopped.

[Pema]

07:32 PM on 06/20/2009

Our thoughts are hopes are with you. We never heard of her until she became candidate for VP...
I never was so sorry to hear a human being in my life. Hang in there, better days for you ahead.

[noamjunior]

04:31 PM on 06/20/2009

these 15-20 people are the only ones that believe Palin's BS story that when Dave was making a joke about the knocked-up Palin Daughter, he was actually talking about the one that wasn't knocked up

[MSMSucksCom]

03:56 PM on 06/20/2009

Any questions about Dave getting back to form (and not giving a rip about the protest) have been answered by his rally jokes on Wed. night's show (June 17). He also told a Palin joke, mocking her, but I could not get my recorder set up in time.

Here is what he said:

==========­===

Glad you people are here because yesterday we had kind of a thing, think about this, this is a little weird.

Right here We are doing the show and right across the street on Broadway they had the fire dave rally. (laughter)

It was a gathering of people who actually hate me. (laughter)

Now at my house we actually call that Thanksgivi­ng. (laughter, applause)

And I just want to say a word of thanks to the great CBS television network, they've been wonderful through everything and throughout our career here at the network.

But yesterday I thought that maybe they were just a little too eager to cash in, you know on this whole thing with the rally.

I mean at the CBS Store at the corner, you know (laughter) they were selling highly flammable Dave Letterman effigies. (laughter, long applause).

[Tugar]

03:00 PM on 06/20/2009

THERE'S MORE HERE, THAN MEET THE EYE !

FOLKS, SOMEONE IS PAYING THESE PEOPLE TO SHOW UP, SCREAMING PROFANITIE­S AND INSULTS OVER THIS LETTERMAN-­PALIN NONSENSE !

[DRicha8374]

03:35 PM on 06/20/2009

Who ever paid them, must wasn't paying enough because about 50 people showed up and most of them were media.

[americanalien]

10:40 AM on 06/20/2009

Who let these cra.zy Republican frea.ks out of their cages?

[DragonFly]

09:53 AM on 06/20/2009

This is the stock that supports Palin and her ilk.

Scary, huh?

[carlgt1]

04:36 PM on 06/20/2009

this is the "real America" Palin touts...

[Tamburlaine]

09:40 PM on 06/19/2009

This is pure comedy gold. Too bad Letterman probably can't make use of this silly scene, having just apologized­. Can you imagine the humor he could wring out of this silly protest?

[crablegs]

08:45 PM on 06/19/2009

These people are just flat out crazy and ridiculous and need to get a life. You can always expect people like this to blow things WAY out of proportion­. It just makes me like David all the better.

[TruthmongerII]

07:38 PM on 06/19/2009

I guess after they celebrated the murder of Dr. Tiller they needed something else to do?

[Poorsarah]

07:31 PM on 06/19/2009

David Letterman is a class act ...he has been a class act for 30+years. Letterman showed much more grace than Palin ever could even conceive..­.oops, my bad, it was Bristol who conceived!­!! Anyway, Palin is a roughshod hick with enough knowledge to destroy our nation if it was put in her control; Letterman apologized even though he has nothing to apologize for; Palin never apologizes for anything..­.I have yet to hear an apology from her for her double-tal­k, double standards, and hypocrisy which is so glaringly evident in what she says and does. David Letterman will persevere and come out on top of this ignorant situation.

[ywcachieve]

10:11 PM on 06/19/2009

''''Palin never apologizes for anything..­.I have yet to hear an apology from her for her double-tal­k, double standards, and hypocrisy which is so glaringly evident in what she says and does.''''

narcissist­ic so.ciopath­s, don't apologize

[RichieB]

09:14 AM on 06/20/2009

Right. Palin didn't apologize for calling Obama a terrorist and a socialist. She didn't apologize for troopergat­e and she exploited Willow when everybody new Letterman was referring to Bristol. I believe that Letterman crossed the line with that joke but Palin has been getting some mileage out of it also and has overplayed her hand.

[CAPTAINSKIPPY]

07:28 PM on 06/19/2009

The end is near!! No Leno, no Letterman - the end of civilizati­on as we know it!!!

[Tugar]

03:06 PM on 06/20/2009

No, its not the end of Leno, Letterman or anyone else ......

Its the GOP Conservati­ves whose backing these crazy people (WITH MONEY) to show up yelling and snotting all over the place about this Letterman-­Palin nonsense !

[drewziGNY]

04:56 PM on 06/20/2009

It's the beginning of the end for Palin.

[Eolianharp]

06:15 PM on 06/19/2009

Certainly these people are not followers of the Great Flying Spaghetti Monster (bless His Noodly appendages­.) Were they true Pastafaria­ns, their pirate outfits would have been noticable. The most important of all FSM's ten "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts" is: "I'd Really Rather You Didn't Use My Existence As A Means To Oppress, Subjugate, Punish, Eviscerate­, And/Or, You Know, Be Mean To Others. I Don't Require Sacrifices­, And Purity Is For Drinking Water, Not People." Actually, there are only eight of the "Ten Condiments­" left, as two were dropped on the way down Mount Salsa.

[trying-to-be-objective]

07:51 PM on 06/19/2009

You don't want these people as Pastafaria­ns. They will twist the Great Flying Spaghetti Monster around their forks as badly as they have twisted Jesus around their g.uns.

[DragonFly]

10:02 AM on 06/20/2009

"Actually, there are only eight of the "Ten Condiments­" left, as two were dropped on the way down Mount Salsa."

- My best laugh of the day. -