Comedian says he’s sorry for comments, but still doesn’t like some women comics

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2000 | 4:21 a.m.

Jerry Lewis says he's sorry - sort of.

Lewis issued a statement Thursday offering his "humble apology" for comments he made about female comedians that stunned an audience in Aspen, Colo.

The comedian said "there are times when half statements get misinterpreted, and that's what happened at the Aspen U.S. Comedy Festival last week."

Lewis, who said on Saturday that he didn't like female comedians, named Whoopi Goldberg, Elayne Boosler, Phyllis Diller and others as women comics he actually did like.

But, in a meandering statement, he said there were many female comedians he didn't like.

"When women, doing comedy, do routines written for them by drill sergeants, I take objection," Lewis wrote. "Their filth makes me and many ashamed to be in our business, and to me women doing anything, especially comedy, are looked upon by me as one of God's great miracles....they can make a baby."

Lewis was in a question and answer session in Aspen when he made his original statement.

"A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me, but sets me back a bit," Lewis said at the appearance. "I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world."

In Thursday's statement, Lewis accused the media of having "to trash someone to make a deadline."

Lewis said he was concerned because he had been told some people may not contribute to his annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon because of the comments.

"To them, I say 'my kids' are innocent and they deserve your care and good will," Lewis wrote.

Jim Brown, MDA's director of public affairs, said Lewis wrote the statement himself and asked him to send it.

Brown said MDA had received a number of calls from people upset over the comments, but said the good Lewis has done for the organization outweighs any concerns over what he said.

"The support for Jerry Lewis by MDA is staunch," Brown said. "He wrote this and asked me to put it out on his behalf and I was happy to oblige."

Attempts to reach Lewis for comment were not successful.