IS IT TOO LATE TO SAY SORRY?
It’s so popular, even provocateurs are apologizing, writes Stephanie Merry.
Apologies are so on trend right now. In the span of a week, Bill Maher, Kathy Griffin and Piers Morgan have all said sorry, even though as provocateurs they normally revel in making people uncomfortable. What gives? The proliferation of apologies these days is most likely compelled by social media. If outraged Twitter users have taught us anything, it’s that there’s no shortage of things to atone for.
But not everyone expresses remorse. Or, at least, they didn’t used to.
Over the course of her career, Griffin was unapologetic despite mocking Oprah’s weight gain, stripping on Letterman, dropping an F-bomb on live television and announcing on a red carpet that Dakota Fanning — a child at the time — had just checked into rehab. E! apologized for that last (false) comment and made a donation to UNICEF in Fanning’s name as a public display of penance.
If Griffin was ever contrite, it was always couched with a joke. “Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humour?” she asked after sort of apologizing for telling Jesus to “suck it” during an acceptance speech.
But Griffin’s apology last week was unequivocal. After a gruesome photo of her holding what looked like Donald Trump’s bloodied, severed head started making the rounds online, the backlash was extreme.
“I went way too far,” she said severely in a video she posted to Twitter. “The image is too disturbing, I understand how it offends people. It wasn’t funny, I get it. I beg for your forgiveness.”
CNN responded by firing Griffin from her gig co-hosting its annual New Year’s bash. It’s funny that this is what got her axed considering all the outlandish button-pushing she’s done during the telecast over the years, including simulating a sex act on co-host Anderson Cooper.
Morgan is best known for delighting in the outrage that follows his provocative declarations. He likes using the word “feminazi” and criticizing women’s clothing choices. He also has some kind of weird obsession with taking down the Kardashians. He’s publicly trolled Emma Watson, Cher, Beyoncé, Madonna, Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Aniston and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, among many others. And he hasn’t apologized for any of it. Until now.
After the attack in Manchester at an Ariana Grande concert, Morgan criticized the singer on Twitter for quickly leaving town. But he changed his tune after she hosted a huge benefit concert Sunday that raised $13 million.
In an op-ed for the Daily Mail, he apologized to Grande.
“I want you to know this: I seriously misjudged you,” he wrote. “I had you down as just another self-obsessed millionaire pop star prepared to put her own safety before that of her fans. I was completely wrong.”
Morgan’s column wasn’t entirely contrite. He still stood by his earlier assessment that Grande should have stayed in Manchester to see the wounded concertgoers, but he also said she showed more compassion to her fans than Morgan ever showed her.
Often controversial, Maher is once again in hot water after his Friday night episode of HBO’s Real Time. During the program he said the N-word during an exchange with Senator Ben Sasse, who told Maher he’d be happy to have the host come to Nebraska and work the fields with his constituents.
“Work in the fields?” Maher retorted. “Senator, I’m a house n—.”
The next day he issued a statement, saying, “I regret the word I used in the banter of a live moment. The word was offensive and I regret saying it and am very sorry.”
HBO did its own damage control, calling it inexcusable and saying the network would scrub the exchange from the episode.
In the past, Maher — an avowed First Amendment crusader — has lamented that Barack Obama
The image is too disturbing, I understand how it offends people. It wasn’t funny, I get it. I beg for your forgiveness.
wasn’t a “real black president” because he didn’t threaten people with a gun he kept hidden in his waistband. He has also made a number of incendiary comments about Islam, calling the religion “the motherlode of bad ideas.”
All boundary pushers are going to cross the line at some point, especially in an era when social media keeps celebrities accountable. But you’ll notice these three still did the public apology their own way.
Morgan’s column was simply an example of what he does best: drumming up publicity. His oped was less contrite than condescending.
Griffin followed up her apology with a news conference during which she painted herself as the victim of the Trump family, whom she claims is bullying her.
Maher’s word choice was met with many calls to #fire him. Considering his track record, it’s only natural to wonder if his apology came at the urging of the network — or if he just did it because he thought it would save his job.
How much weight should we give to celebrity apologies? At this point, they’re a pointless ritual, if also a necessary step in the rehabilitation process. It’s a good way to get the angry tweeters to settle down, at least — and even the instigators need that sometimes.