WATCH: Sarah Palin heaps praise on Julian Assange in surreal video -- and apologizes for 'being a stinker to him'

Former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin this week praised WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a champion of freedom -- despite the fact that Assange leaked her own personal emails all the way back in 2008.

In an interview promoted by WikiLeaks itself, Palin acknowledges that she was once angered that Assange had violated her privacy by posting her hacked emails, but she says that she has long since gotten over it.

"We do have a lot of history," she acknowledged. "He leaked, published somehow a few emails of mine and I was so ticked off. He was such a foe until I started figuring out where he was headed with his agenda with what he’s doing is trying to provide people with information so that we can make better decisions for our own lives for the community, for our country, for the world and I really appreciate him more."

Now, however, Palin sees Assange as such an asset that she says she personally apologized to him over her past statements attacking him.

"I appreciate him so much I actually apologized to him for calling him out, and kind of being a stinker to him," said the former Alaska governor. "I appreciate that he's all about freedom. He wants people to have information."

Watch the video below.