The award for best apology this week goes to ... Justin Bieber's rebound after racist comments resurfaced on video or Jonah Hill's apology for using a gay slur? It's been a heck of a week for offensive celebrity antics — and it's only Wednesday!
Who else but TMZ could dig up a video like this one from five years ago? It shows then-14-year-old pop star Bieber singing the lyrics to his song "One Less Lonely Girl" but switching out the word "Girl" for the "N-word." (Via TMZ, Warner Bros. Television / "The Ellen DeGeneres Show")
"One less lonely n***** ... "
The Biebs continues to sing how he'd "join the KKK." Rolling Stone reports the singer later apologized, citing his naivety at 14.
"As a kid, I didn't understand the power of certain words and how they can hurt. … [I] didn't realize at the time that it wasn't funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance."
Also in the cross hairs for an offensive comment: "Wolf of Wall Street" actor Jonah Hill.
"I didn't mean it in a homophobic way, but that doesn't matter." (Via NBC / "The Tonight Show")
Hill appeared on "The Tonight Show" to give a lengthy apology for a gay slur he shot back to a paparazzo in the heat of the moment. (Via Flickr / Do512)
"Words have weight and meaning, and the word I chose was grotesque, and no one deserves to say or hear words like that." (Via NBC / "The Tonight Show")
Hill also noted the photographer was antagonizing him and was "calling me names and attacking me and my family personally." (Via Flickr / Ernst Moeksis)
Several sites, including Parade magazine, have swooned over the apology, calling it very "emotional" and "heartfelt." Parade even jabbed, "Justin Bieber, take note!" (Via New York Daily News)
Many in the media and the celebs themselves agree the stars never intended to offend anyone. But the fact remains: Insensitivity while in the spotlight certainly comes with consequences — and apologies.
