Much like Dian Fossey and the gorillas (amazing band name), I consider myself a keen observer of celebrities. As I study their culture, via social media and podcasts by gay people, I find that I generally have more in common with gorillas than I do with famous people. But I’ve noticed there is an area that levels the playing field somewhat. There’s one thing that all humans kind of suck at: apologising. In fact, apologising is one area where normals may actually be at an advantage.
Our mistakes are not usually talked about, except among group chats and our mean colleagues. In the era of Finding Out Everything About Celebrities Often Against Our Will, the “celebrity apology” has become much more of a factor in our lives. Their mistakes are public instantly worldwide, their apologies dissected, with high stakes for their careers. There are also stakes for fans. One of the risks of attempting to fill the void by enjoying things is that you might connect to someone’s work and one day that person might do something annoying, shitty or even unforgivable.
