Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin released a statement accepting TV host David Letterman’s apology for jokes directed at the governor’s teenage daughter.

Palin statement read, “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, Letterman certainly has the right to ‘joke’ about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction. 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.”

Letterman has apologized twice for his controversial joke and claims that he’s “misunderstood”.

“The joke, really, in and of itself, can’t be defended,” Letterman said during Monday’s “Late Show with David Letterman.”

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

Letterman joked that her daughter was “knocked up by Alex Rodriguez” during a baseball game during Palin’s last visit to New York. The joke was directed to Palin’s oldest daughter – Bristol. The 18-year-old is an unwed mother. Unknown to Letterman was the fact that the governor was not accompanied by Bristol but by her younger sister Willow.