Conan O'Brien Apologizes to Levi Johnston for Twitter Skit

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com; Jesse Grant/WireImage.comUs Magazine

Levi Johnston got his apology -- plus another musical tribute -- from Conan O'Brien and William Shatner.

To soften hard feelings and avoid a potential legal mess, O'Brien made amends to Johnston on NBC's The Tonight Show Thursday -- acknowledging that the offensive Twitter quotes attributed to Johnston in a song performed by Shatner Wednesday were "counterfeit" and "written by a clever imposter."

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"The real Levi is very angry with us," O'Brien announced to his giggling audience.

Yesterday, reps for Johnston demanded a retraction after Shatner's skit linked homophobic remarks to the future Playgirl model and father of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin's grandson.

"If they don't retract, we'll sue," his manager told TMZ Wednesday.

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Hours later, O'Brien used his opening monologue to extend a personal apology to Johnston and his team "for misrepresenting him in any way."

Added the late-night comedian: "We wish him the best of luck as he trains for his upcoming naked photo shoot."

To sweeten the apology, Shatner re-emerged to give a jazzy spoken-word performance reading "some real verified quotes" from Johnston, O'Brien explained.

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"Guess what?" Shatner said softly. "I shot a big-ass bear."

The actor-musician even quoted Johnston's recent statement to Usmagazine.com: "I just get naked. It's what I do."

On Nov. 11, Johnston will be named Fleshbot Award's "Crossover Star" for "pop culture star turned sex star" by the sexually-themed blog Fleshbot.com

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