CBS Loses Website Advertiser Because Of David Letterman's Sarah Palin Joke

June 16, 2009 10:31 a.m. EST

Los Angeles, CA (CNS) - David Letterman's Palin jokes had cost his network an advertiser. A hotel chain was forced to pull its ads out of the CBS' website following complaints.

Embassy suites' spokeswoman Kendra Walker told TVGuide.com that the company, an advertiser of the network on their website, pulled out because of the complaints they have received.

She said, "We received lots of emails from concerned guests and we assessed that the statement that he made was offensive enough to our guests and prospective guests that we elected to take the ads down."

The jokes, in which Letterman referred to Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin's 18-year-old daughter Bristol to be "knocked up" by New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, also spawned a hate campaign against him. The Palins took the joke as a jibe to their 14-year-old daughter Willow, who was with them during the baseball game, though Letterman vehemently denied it.

Their indirect exchange of words prompted the Fire David Letterman campaign.

Organizer Michael Patrick Leahy told TVGuide, "It's a disgraceful comment and it needs to be stopped. It is totally inappropriate and disgraceful for a 62-year-old man to sexually insult a 14-year-old girl, period. These comments are more egregious than those of Don Imus, and CBS fired him for those comments."

Letterman apologized twice for the joke. Although on Monday, he delivered it on a more serious note, saying that he takes full blame for the "bad joke" and that it was his fault it was misunderstood.