Racial slurs. Homophobic slurs. Slamming local businesses. Sorry not sorry. These
celebs weren't really that sorry and everyone knows it!
In June 2013, celebrity chef, Paula Deen, fell from grace when she admitted to using racial
slurs after she was sued by former employee Lisa Jackson for racial discrimination.
Although a judge dismissed Jackson's suit, the cookery star faced continued backlash
when more racist comments and behavior were dug up from her past. Deen was dropped by
the Food Network, which broadcasted her show, "Paula's Home Cooking." Per Fox News,
various contracts she held with QVC, Target, Walmart, and "Ballantine Books" were either
paused or canceled outright. Following the fallout, Deen appeared on "Today." There,
host Matt Lauer asked her if she would have fired herself from the Food Network. She replied,
"Would I have fired me? Knowing me? No."
She added,
"And I am so very thankful for the partners that I have who believe in me."
During her apology attempt, the chef stated outright that she was not racist,
and also insisted she only used the racial slur once when a Black man had held her up
at gunpoint, 30 years prior. She added that she was unsure whether her use of
the pejorative term was offensive toward Black people. She argued,
"It's very distressing for me to go into my kitchens
and I hear what these young people are calling each other."
To top it all off, not once did Deen utter the
words "I'm sorry" in the 13-minute interview. Instead, she told Lauer,
"I've had to hold friends in my arms while they've sobbed."
In April 2021, Demi Lovato expressed her frustration with a Los Angeles-based
yogurt shop called The Bigg Chill for using phrases like "sugar-free
cookies" in their marketing. Believing such terminology glorifies disordered eating,
the star — who has openly discussed having an eating disorder — blasted
the company on her Instagram Stories with the hashtag, quote, "diet culture vultures."
She also shared screenshots of private messages with the brand where she stated it was triggering
to walk into their shop due to their messaging. Lovato's published DM's indicated that the shop
had responded to her. Defending their choice of language, they'd written,
BuzzFeed reported that some people were not happy with Lovato bashing a small business
and that those with diabetes were happy to see a store carrying sugar-free options.
On Instagram, the star eventually backtracked and apologized for misinterpreting the signs
at the store. She added that she would have felt better had they instead been
specifically labeled for dietary needs. She insisted that she's not just someone with
a lot of following using her platform to easily come after a small business.
"I walked into a situation that didn't sit right with me. My intuition said
speak up about this, so I did. And I feel good about that."
People reported that The Bigg Chill did not respond to Lovato's statement.
"I speak my mind. I'm opinionated. And then sometimes I get labeled as problematic."
In May 2020, Hannah Brown, who is known for being Season 15's "The Bachelorette," angered fans when
she was seen on Instagram Live using a racial slur while singing along to rapper DaBaby's
song "Rockstar." She only found herself in more hot water when she denied having used
the slur. During an apology video, she could be seen giggling and deflecting the blame
onto her brother. When fans pushed her for an apology for using the offensive term, she said,
Still, her apology fell short and a few hours later, she acknowledged that she
had used the slur on her Instagram Stories. In a statement, she wrote,
A month later Brown returned to Instagram Stories
to share an 18-minute video reiterating her intentions.
"I don't want to be an ignorant white girl who uses the N-word."
"I've learned that I have to take a lot of responsibility and accountability for my actions."
In the same month that the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 as a pandemic,
actor Vanessa Hudgens came off as tone-deaf and insensitive when she questioned the severity
of the virus. Covid cases were surging in the U.S. and across the globe, so the former Disney
starlet's comments weren't exactly appreciated by her fans during the distressing time. On
Instagram Stories, Hudgens griped about the proposed duration of quarantine, before adding,
"Like yeah, people are going to die, which is terrible, but like inevitable?"
After receiving significant backlash for the statements, the "High School Musical" star soon
posted an apology video that didn't sound all that apologetic. According to Hudgens,
her words had been picked up and misreported by the media.
"I realize today that some of my comments are being taken out of context.
Um…It's a crazy time. It's a crazy, crazy time."
Still, Hudgens later re-evaluated her apology. In a note shared on Twitter,
the star acknowledged that her initial statement was crass and
poorly timed. She implored her fans to stay safe and added,
Cardi B was seemingly another celebrity who appeared to not quite grasp the gravity of
the coronavirus pandemic when she hosted a Thanksgiving dinner in her home. In November 2020,
the rapper took to Twitter to share the news of her ill-advised celebration, writing,
According to The New York Times, cases of the virus surged to four million during that month,
which was more than double the cases the previous month. While the rapper may have
had loads of fun with her family and friends, most people across the world had to spend the
holidays away from their loved ones that year during the lockdown. After receiving backlash
for her grand Thanksgiving dinner, the artist returned to Twitter to apologize. She wrote,
According to People, some Twitter users refused to accept the apology and criticized
the star for bragging about her wealth while others were taking precautions against the
virus. Cardi B saw the swarm of displeased fans commenting on her posts and tweeted in response,
There's always someone who will go the extra mile to dig up dirt on a celeb and there's no
better place to start than with Twitter. Tons of celebrities have been forced to apologize
for old offensive tweets that have resurfaced and have come back to haunt them. In 2018,
Doja Cat, whose real name is Amala Dlamini, was one of these stars when an old tweet showed her
using a homophobic slur. However, instead of apologizing, she gave an extremely bizarre
explanation for using the word. In a since-deleted tweet, Doja's excuse for using the slur read,
Confusing? Yes. An apology? Not so much. According to Buzzfeed News,
Doja followed up with an apology, which has also since been deleted, that read,
She added that she didn't want anyone to look up to her as a role model.
In a since-deleted post from 2020, Lea Michele shared her
support for the Black Lives Matter movement on Twitter. In response,
her former "Glee" co-star Samantha Marie Ware wrote, in all caps,
Following Ware's accusations, other "Glee" stars showed their solidarity and support. On Twitter,
Heather Morris agreed that her former co-star wasn't nice to work with,
while Yvette Nicole Brown, who starred in "The Mayor" alongside Michele, responded to Ware's
tweet by stating that she felt every one of those capital letters along with a raised fist emoji.
On Instagram, Michele shared an apology that didn't sound all that sorry. Stating how the
Black Lives Matter movement had made people more attentive to the perspectives and experiences of
others, she highlighted the importance of acknowledging injustices, and added,
"So, I thought we would try a kinder approach."
Ware wasn't impressed. She told Variety,
In 2021, Justin Timberlake apologized to his ex Britney Spears. The attempt to make
amends arrived after the New York Times documentary, "Framing Britney Spears,"
showcased how the "Toxic" singer was depicted as a villain when she and the former *NSYNC
singer broke up. Timberlake, on the other hand, appeared to profit from the split,
even casting a Spears look-a-like as a cheater in the music video for "Cry Me A River."
Also included in his apology was Janet Jackson. Addressing the 2004 Super Bowl
halftime show incident, in which he ripped off part of her costume and exposed her breast,
the singer stated how he should have stood up for her. As noted by The New York Times,
the incident resulted in Jackson taking the brunt of the apparent scandal while
Timberlake appeared to thrive, untarnished. His initial apology was hardly an apology
in and of itself. While accepting a Grammy award, the singer stated,
Decades later, he conceded that he could have done better. On Instagram, he wrote,
Response to his post was mixed with outlets like W magazine arguing that
both artists were each worthy of an individual and less vague apology.