Bernhard's denial

Comedian Sandra Bernhard is denying widely reported comments about vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, calling the quotes attributed to her "an absolute lie." A few weeks ago, Bernhard defended a segment of her one-woman show in Washington, D.C., in which she was reported to have said Palin would be "gang-raped by my big black brothers" if she came to New York. But in the wake of being cut from the Oct. 16 Rosie's Place benefit in Boston, Bernhard is now saying she never uttered those words. "I did not use the word 'rape,' " she told the Globe yesterday. "Have I called out Sarah Palin on her stand on women's reproductive rights? Darn right, I have. She is a dangerous person." Bernhard said she can't recall exactly what she said about Palin, because those bits were improvised. "I wouldn't want to paraphrase it," she said. "The only time I say the word is when I'm quoting her." The comedian said she would never joke about rape, or make racist comments, and that she has a record of supporting women's causes. She said she's debunking the quote now because she's sorry to have hurt Rosie's Place, and to have put the women's shelter in a tough position. "I feel really bad for them," she said, adding that she's making a donation to the organization. On Wednesday, Rosie's Place head Sue Marsh said the benefit, "Funny Women. . .Serious Business," would go on and that she was looking for a replacement for Bernhard. Marsh couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.