Everything from Savannah Guthrie swearing on the Today Show to Jimmy Fallon doing blackface on the Tonight Show warrants an apology – if not for themselves, then for their audiences who tune in to these shows for entertainment that doesn’t include offending someone. Oftentimes, you’ll hear the phrase “mea culpa” – which means acknowledging personal fault or offense – when a celebrity publicly apologizes for wrongdoing, but is mea culpa an apology? Or is it just a way to acknowledge that you did something disagreeable without actually apologizing for it? Many a celebrity will go on Instagram Live to apologize, hoping to appeal to their audience in a vulnerable and unscripted way. Others do things like use the Notes app on their phone to type up an apology (something you can’t do with 140 characters on Twitter) to screenshot and share across their social accounts. Depending on how you feel about these kinds of apologies – and the celebrity asking for forgiveness – some apologies may feel more real and “from the heart” than others. And, of course, it all comes down to whether the person can admit that what they did or said was wrong. An apology means nothing without being honest, after all.
Here were the 7 best (and worst) recent celebrity apologies:
1. DaBaby
Photo: YES Market Media / Shutterstock At the Rolling Loud Miami music festival, according to the Washington Post, rapper DaBaby made homophobic comments directed toward the LGBTQ+ community. The rapper encouraged the festival’s audience to raise their cellphone lights unless they had “HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually-transmitted diseases that make you die in two to three weeks.” In addition to these offensive and hurtful comments, DaBaby’s claims that HIV/AIDS can kill an individual in a couple of weeks were ill-informed, uneducated, and insensitive. DaBaby took to Instagram, making a video to seemingly apologize to his fans, but instead backing up what he said during his set, saying his show was for those who paid money and for those who were upset to “shut the f–k up.” His comments were received poorly by many celebrities in the music industry, and several music festivals that had DaBaby in their lineups dropped him after the incident. DaBaby then posted a message on Twitter saying, “Anybody who done ever been affected by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions of offending anybody. So my apologies.” RELATED: 11 Times Celebs Got Dropped From Major Deals Due To Their Controversial Comments
2. Demi Lovato
Photo: Tinseltown / Shutterstock Demi Lovato, a strong voice for body positivity and mental health, called out The Bigg Chill on Instagram for their food offerings. The Bigg Chill, a frozen yogurt shop in Los Angeles, had sugar-free cookies and other diet foods, according to BuzzFeed, making it hard for Lovato to order froyo, calling the shop “diet culture vultures” on Instagram. Lovato then doubled down, saying companies like The Bigg Chill “perpetuate a society that not only enables but praises disordered eating.” According to People, The Bigg Chill replied to Lovato on Instagram saying, “We carry items for Diabetics, Celiac disease, Vegan and of course have many indulgent items as well.” Lovato came back and expressed their disappointment in an environment that was less than inviting for people with different needs, citing their own experience as “triggering and awful,” and ending their reply by saying, “Don’t make excuses, just do better.” Their comments received a lot of support and backlash, with people on Twitter praising them for calling out the ever-present diet culture, while others claimed they almost destroyed a small business. Lovato returned to social media to say, “I’m sorry that I may have disappointed some people… my intuition said speak up about this, so I did.”
3. Candace Cameron Bure
Photo: DFree / Shutterstock Bure, of Full House fame, now a talk show panelist, recently voiced her stance on COVID-19 vaccine mandates. According to E! News Online, Bure took to Instagram about her views saying, “I can no longer stay silent on vaccine mandates. Although I will not disclose my vaccination status to you, I am absolutely opposed to vaccine MANDATES, anywhere. We must speak up.” Along with other celebrities, Bure has voiced her opposition and concern over the vaccine mandates set in place for Americans. She stated on her Instagram page, “This is not about what I am against. This is what I am FOR,” and shared a slideshow that included statements like “I’m not anti-v, I’m just pro-medical freedom.” Bure is also well known for being vocal about the importance of Christianity in her life. She received some mixed reactions to a TikTok video she posted of herself lip-syncing to a Lana Del Rey song while holding a Bible, with the caption reading, “When they don’t know the power of the Holy Spirit,” according to CNN Entertainment. She apologized for the video, saying that she was trying to look strong, not seductive, and that she was inspired by her daughter who had used the same audio on TikTok previously. She didn’t apologize for her views on the vaccine mandates, whether her views were related to the TikTok video made months previously, but did say on her Instagram post, “This should not separate us. We can have different opinions and still respect and love one another.” RELATED: A Psychologist Explains Why We Care So Much When Celebs Like Chrissy Teigen Apologize
4. Chrissy Teigen
Photo: Tinseltown / Shutterstock In an interview with the Daily Beast, model and celebrity Courtney Stodden recently claimed that Chrissy Teigen, model, and TV personality, used to cyberbully them online. They said Teigen would tell them, “I can’t wait for you to die,” via direct message on Twitter in 2011. According to Page Six, as of 2021, Stodden still had not received a direct apology from Teigen, though she did put out a public apology saying, “I’m ashamed and completely embarrassed at my behavior but that is nothing compared to how I made Courtney feel.” After the backlash and criticism Teigen received from bullying allegations made against her, she talked about being part of “cancel culture,” stating that she’s learned a lot from the experience, according to The Cut. In a post on her Instagram page, Teigen said, “If you or someone you know has also been canceled please let me know if there is a cancel club reunion because I could use some time off my couch!” This post prompted Stodden to suggest ways for Teigen to put that energy to good use, saying, “I think that continuing to gripe about ‘cancel club’ or whatever that is… take your part and maybe do something with charities,” according to TMZ.
5. Justin Timberlake
Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock In the same vein of apologies with a long time coming, actor and singer Justin Timberlake recently made a public apology to both Janet Jackson and Britney Spears for falling short as a “man in a privileged position,” saying he “benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism.” According to the NY Times, Timberlake took to Instagram to apologize to Spears and Jackson for allowing his privilege and actions following his breakup with Spears and his Super Bowl halftime show with Jackson to bring both women down. While Timberlake was awarded two Grammys after the Super Bowl incident, Jackson faced most of the backlash from the halftime show. Similarly, many jokes were made at Spears’ expense following a song by Timberlake that insinuated that Spears had cheated on him. The end of Britney Spears’ court-sanctioned conservatorship under her father, plus the upcoming documentary Framing Britney Spears on Hulu, seems to have elicited a public apology from Timberlake for his past actions. RELATED: Justin Timberlake’s Apology To Britney Spears And Janet Jackson Is Great, But He’s About 15 Years Too Late
6. Barbara Corcoran
Photo: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock On an episode of The View in 2021, Shark Tank judge Barbara Corcoran made a tasteless joke about Whoopi Goldberg’s appearance, according to BuzzFeed. During a segment on the show, The View hosts and Shark Tank judges were joined by Emma Grede, CEO of apparel brand Good American, as she talked about the brand’s inclusive sizing for all body types. When Goldberg asked if the Good American jeans would fit her, implying that her body had changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and whose body hasn’t?), Grede replied, “They really are for every body.” Corcoran, however, replied with, “And when you get finished with those jeans and decide you don’t like them, give them to me. I’m gonna make two pairs,” which was met with uncomfortable laughing from her co-hosts and disapproving noises from the audience. Corcoran’s off-color joke was met with criticism, and she immediately apologized to Goldberg on Twitter saying, “I made a joke at Whoopi’s expense, which I now realize wasn’t funny.” According to Entertainment Weekly, Goldberg said that Corcoran didn’t need to apologize at all. “She doesn’t have to… that’s just who she is. And no, it takes a lot more to offend me.”
7. 50 Cent
Photo: lev radin / Shutterstock If you follow rapper 50 Cent on social media, you may know that he is no stranger to messing with others and making jokes about people. But even if it’s meant to be harmless, it can still be hurtful. Case in point: singer Madonna. 50 Cent made several jokes about a recent photoshoot Madonna did on Twitter, including recreating one of her photos himself. In the photo, Madonna is under a bed with her legs exposed, wearing fishnet tights and heels. 50 Cent reposted the photo and said, “That’s Madonna under the bed trying to do like a virgin at 63,” among other comments. Madonna replied on Instagram, according to People, with a photo of her and 50 Cent saying, “Here is 50 Cent pretending to be my friend… I guess your new career is getting attention by trying to humiliate others on social media.” According to Complex, 50 Cent later apologized, saying he “didn’t intend to hurt her feelings,” but Madonna believes that his apology was fake. In a video following the initial apology, Madonna says, “An apology is not valid if you don’t know what you’re apologizing for. What you should be apologizing for is your misogynistic, sexist, ageist behavior and remarks.” RELATED: Kanye West Begs God To Bring His ‘Family Back Together’ As Julia Fox Says She’s Not Threatened By Kim Kardashian Emily Ratay is a full-time writer living in Pittsburgh. She’s passionate about the environment and feminism, and knows that anything is possible in the right pair of shoes. She plans on writing a book in the future.
