Top 10 Celeb Apologies So Bad They Made Everything Worse
#10: Mario Batali
Mix together two cups of flour, four tablespoons of sugar and a truckload of insensitivity, and you’d get Mario Batali’s 2017 apology. Following a slew of harassment and assault accusations, the celebrity chef stepped down from his hospitality empire and was fired from ABC’s “The Chew.” Batali went on to address the allegations in an email newsletter to his subscribers, apologizing for his actions and taking full responsibility. Instead of wrapping things up right there, Batali decided to include a postscript, which contained a recipe for his holiday-inspired Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls. The move was deemed by many to be extremely inappropriate and distasteful, for someone intending to show remorse. Without a doubt, this was one half-baked apology.
#9: Neymar
At the 2018 World Cup, Brazil faced a deafening defeat to Belgium at the quarterfinals, which eliminated them from the competition. Many disappointed fans voiced out their frustrations at star player Neymar, whose frequent dives on the pitch was seen as exaggerated and overly theatrical. In response, Neymar apologized to the Brazilian people in a televised Gillette ad, in which he promised to do better. This, however, turned out to be an own goal, as it was later revealed that the footballer had been paid over £200,000 to recite the words, written for him by an ad agency. A swift backlash followed the video, with many also noting that the apology seemed plastic and devoid of any sincerity.
#8: Ellen DeGeneres
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In the summer of 2020, Ellen DeGeneres came under fire after reports of a toxic work environment came to light. The allegations, leveled by current and former employees of her talk show, called out DeGeneres for reportedly allowing the misconduct to thrive. On the Season 18 premiere, the TV host and comedian tendered an apology, which was injected with jokes and met by laughter and applause from the virtual audience. This didn’t go down well with a number of her staffers, who felt DeGeneres’ light-hearted tone was inappropriate for such a serious situation. Others found the apology, which basically opened the new season, to be a tactical move. After 19 years on the air, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” came to an end in 2022.
#7: DaBaby
In July of 2021, hip-hop artist DaBaby gave a performance at the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami. During his set, DaBaby made inaccurate and disparaging statements about gay men and people living with HIV. Even after being called out by many fans and celebrities, the rapper initially doubled down on his comments. However, after losing business collaborations and being dropped by multiple music festivals, DaBaby first released an apology on Twitter, which did little to quell the rising outrage. He followed this up with a lengthier post on Instagram, in which he first criticized those who called him out, but suddenly deleted that a few days later. With such inconsistency, hardly anyone was convinced of DaBaby’s remorse.
#6: Will Smith
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Will Smith caused quite the stir at the 2022 Oscars ceremony when he walked onstage and hit Chris Rock across the face. While presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature, Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, which her husband didn’t seem to take lightly. Moments later, Smith took the stage again, this time to accept the Oscar for Best Actor, delivering a teary speech in which he apologized to everyone except Rock. After receiving a wave of criticism, Smith posted a statement the following day in which he acknowledged wrongdoing and pleaded directly to the comedian. Months later, the “King Richard” star released another apology, in the form of a YouTube video, which Rock seemingly rebuffed.
#5: Matt Lauer
In 2017, Matt Lauer faced multiple accusations of inappropriate behavior from women who worked with him at NBC. After these claims were brought to light, the longtime anchor was fired by the broadcasting corporation. Lauer issued a public apology the following day, expressing “sorrow and regret” for his behavior and briefly acknowledging the women who leveled the allegations. While that was lackluster in itself, the emphasis on his personal embarrassment about the ordeal only called his contrition into question. Following a long period away from the spotlight, Lauer returned in 2019 with a strongly worded open letter, in which he categorically denied the allegations and urged his accusers to acknowledge their own apparent faults.
#4: Louis C.K.
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Actor and comedian Louis C.K. became the subject of controversy in November 2017, when a New York Times article detailed allegations of misconduct on his part. Although rumors of his behavior had been making the rounds in Hollywood for years, they only became public knowledge with the release of said article. Facing mounting backlash and severe professional consequences, Louis C.K. finally owned up to the claims, putting out a statement he intended as an apology. While he took responsibility for his actions, the comedian stopped short of saying “I’m sorry” to his victims, instead opting for graphic descriptions of the alleged transgressions and emphasizing his revered status in the industry. Needless to say, this did not sit well with his detractors.
#3: Paula Deen
Known for her cooking shows and traditional recipes, celebrity chef Paula Deen found herself in hot water when it was revealed that she had used racial slurs in the past. The scandal began with the leak of a transcript from a deposition where Deen admitted to using the N-word. Following a series of pre-taped apology videos, Deen appeared on the “Today” show to address the incident. In what was regarded as “the worst celebrity apology in history,” she then devolved into a tear-soaked, bible-quoting tirade that seemed to push the blame onto everyone else but herself. This clearly didn’t do Deen any favors. She subsequently lost several business partnerships and was dropped by her longtime home, The Food Network.
#2: Logan Paul
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While on a trip to Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, YouTuber Logan Paul made a vlog in which he recorded the body of a man who had apparently taken his own life. On December 31st 2017, he uploaded it to his YouTube channel, and received a firestorm of criticism in response. After amassing over six million views, Paul took down the video and issued a written apology on Twitter. In it, he referenced himself more than 20 times and seemed to stress just how extensive his influence was, even ending it with the hashtag ‘Logang4Life’. A second apology, in the form of a video, was posted to his channel the following day, featuring a more somber tone.
#1: Kevin Spacey
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In October 2017, Hollywood actor Anthony Rapp granted an interview with Buzzfeed, in which he alleged that he had been harassed by Kevin Spacey as a teenager. Spacey promptly took to Twitter, where he released a statement in which he claimed not to recall the incident, but apologized for what he termed “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.” Then, in a bizarre and absolutely confusing turn, the “House of Cards” actor took the opportunity to come out as gay. The backlash was swift. Many decried what they deemed an attempt to deflect from the allegations leveled against him. In the following days, more accusations of inappropriate behavior trickled in, leading Netflix to officially sever their professional relationship with him.
