In 2022, celebrity apologies are like Rita Ora: inescapable.
While sorry was once considered the hardest word, these days it is so frequently tapped into the iPhone notes app that half of Hollywood risks developing repetitive strain injury in their thumbs. The Inuits may have fifty words for snow, but English-speaking celebrities must make do with just one to cover the full gamut, from Demi Lovato apologising for shaming a frozen yogurt shop (the singer claimed that stocking sugar-free cookies encouraged eating disorders) to Blue’s Lee Ryan retracting his suggestion that 9/11 had been “blown out of all proportion” (as PR disasters go, “Who gives a f**k about New York when elephants are being killed?” is hard to beat.)
Most recently, Will Smith was forced to issue an apology after slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars. “I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris,” he said in a statement posted on Instagram. “I was out of line and I was wrong.” The actor had attacked Rock for comparing his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia, to GI Jane. “My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable,” he wrote. “Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally... I am a work in progress.”
While an onstage punch-up at the Oscars feels unprecedented, celebrity apologies are anything but. In fact, Smith’s mea culpa wasn’t even the first of awards season. Just weeks before, The Power of the Dog director Jane Campion retracted a “thoughtless” remark she had made at the Critics’ Choice Awards. During her best director acceptance speech, she described it as an honour to be in the same room as Serena and Venus Williams, before adding: “You are such marvels. However, you do not play against the guys like I have to.” Following a fierce backlash, Campion said in a statement that she “did not intend to devalue these two legendary black women and world-class athletes. The fact is the Williams sisters have, actually, squared off against men on the court (and off), and they have both raised the bar and opened doors for what is possible for women in this world”.
At this rate, next year’s awards will have to include nominees for best apology, alongside an in memoriam segment devoted to the stars cancelled for lack of contrition. Because while celebrity apologies may be more frequent than Katie Price’s divorces, not all are created equal. Who can forget Bill Clinton’s four-minute “apology” to Americans for lying about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, which neglected to include the words “I’m sorry”?
More recently, Kanye West offered a half-apology to his ex Kim Kardashian, writing: “I know sharing screen shots was jarring and came off as harassing Kim.” It was the social media equivalent of saying “sorry if you felt I offended you”, and wasn’t helped by the fact that Kanye later deleted his post and subsequently released a music video in which he appeared to murder Kim’s current boyfriend Pete Davidson (nothing says “I’ve learned my lesson” like threatening decapitation).
Celebrity PR consultant Mark Borkowski has observed the trend for celebrity apologies with amusement. “There was a time when celebrities never apologised, particularly in America, so we’ve gone volte-face,” he says. “Now there are increased pressures from social media. While celebrities can disregard some criticisms, they can’t dismiss the effect that scandals will have on their brand, earnings, and whether they’ll continue to be accepted into the Hollywood fraternity.”
What makes a good celebrity apology? “You have to be able to demonstrate authenticity and mean what you say. People can and will move on from a scandal if there’s genuine contrition. The apologies that work are the ones which are truthful and sincere, where there’s a genuine sense that people have made a mistake and want to make amends.”
Actress Kristen Stewart is one of the few to have nailed it. In an open letter to then-boyfriend Robert Pattinson after being caught having a fling with married film director Rupert Sanders, she wrote, “This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I’m so sorry.” Honest and to-the-point, the Guardian said she had “set a new standard for the art of the celebrity apology”.
Stars who have fallen foul of the pitch-perfect apology include Chrissy Teigen, who called herself “lucky” to have been held accountable for trolling Courtney Stodden online (among her unearthed tweets, Teigen encouraged the singer to commit suicide). In an apology issued last May, Teigen claimed to be “mortified” and promised that she will “forever work on being better”. But Stodden was unconvinced, saying that the apology felt like “a public attempt to save [Chrissy’s] partnerships”.
The fact the apology came years after the event, and only once the tide of public opinion had turned against her, appears to have dampened its effectiveness. According to Borkowski, speed is of the essence. “The public are very aware of the mechanisms locked in to high-end celebrity,” he says. “If apologies are convoluted, clearly mediated through... advisors and don’t say much at all, it can actually do much more harm than good.”
One thing is certain, the celebrity apology industrial complex shows no signs of slowing down. Whether posing for selfies in graveyards (Katherine Heigl), bribing their children’s way into Ivy league colleges (Felicity Huffman) or licking doughnuts displayed on a shop counter (Ariana Grande), celebrities aren’t going to stop messing up, and repenting, any time soon.
And while the devil works hard, there’s one Hollywood contingent that continues to work harder. “I thought it was telling,” notes Borkowski, “that after the incident with Chris Rock, the first person Smith leant across to speak to was his publicist.”
Five iconic celebrity apologies
Reese Witherspoon
In a complete departure from her wholesome persona, the Legally Blonde actress was caught on camera in 2013 kicking off at a police officer who arrested her and husband Jim Toth for disorderly conduct. “Do you know my name?” she was heard saying. “You’re about to find out who I am… you’re going to be on national news.” But it was she who appeared on Good Morning America a week later. “I’m so sorry. I was so disrespectful to him and I have police officers in my family. I work with police officers every day. I know better and it’s just unacceptable.”
Chrissy Teigen
The model apologised over the course of a series of tweets after being accused by TV personality Courtney Stodden of online bullying. “There is simply no excuse for my past horrible tweets,” she wrote. “I was a troll, full stop. And I am so sorry.”
Bill Clinton
It was the non-apology heard round the world. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” said the US president, before he was eventually impeached. In 2018, he told chat show host Stephen Colbert, “It wasn’t my finest hour, but the important thing is that was a very painful thing that happened 20 years ago and I apologized to my family, to Monica Lewinsky and her family, to the American people.”
Hugh Grant
After being caught with a prostitute in 1995, the actor went on the Tonight with Jay Leno Show and told it like it was. “You know in life... what’s a good thing to do and what’s a bad thing. And I did a bad thing, and there you have it.”
Tiger Woods
The golf champ held a press conference in 2010 after it emerged he’d had multiple affairs. “I cheated. What I did was not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame. I have let my family down, and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect.”
