Did Olive Garden pull ads from Letterman's show?

Andy Barr reports via Politico:

In an email to a Letterman critic obtained by POLITICO, a spokeswoman for the Italian restaurant chain wrote that “there will be no more Olive Garden ads scheduled for ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman in this year's broadcast schedule,” citing the talk show host’s “inappropriate comments.”

“We apologize that Mr. Letterman’s mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden,” wrote Sherri Bruen, the company’s guest relations manager.

Bruen said the company “screens network television programs whenever possible,” but explained that “telecasts, such as ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman, are taped on a daily basis, preventing advertisers from reviewing the content prior to airing.”

A spokesman for the company confirmed Thursday that for now it has cancelled all its remaining scheduled ads on the CBS program for the rest of the year.

Although Gov. Sarah Palin accepted Letterman's apology earlier this week, the fallout from the late night comic's crude jokes about the governor and her daughter(s) still appears to be highly radioactive.

Olive Garden is the first major Letterman sponsor to cancel its advertising for CBS' "Late Nite" show, although Embassy Suites and Hellman's last week removed their ads from the network's web site.

Update: Now an Olive Garden spokesperson is disputing Barr's report.

So which is it, Olive Garden? You can't have it both ways. Or perhaps it can.

- JP