Mitt Romney said he accepts the tearful apology MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry gave on her show Saturday — following a controversial comment she made about his adopted black grandson last week.
PIA GLENN: "One of these things is not like the other."
HARRIS-PERRY: "My goal is that in 2040, the biggest thing of the year will be the wedding between Kieran Romney and North West."
DEAN OBEIDALLAH: "It really sums up the diversity of the Republican party." (Via MSNBC)
ROMNEY: "If you get in the political game, you can expect incoming. But children, that's beyond the line, and I think they understand that. ... I think it's a heartfelt apology." (Via Fox News)
Media outlets including Business Insider said Romney took the high road with that response.
After the initial airing on MSNBC, there was quick backlash from the right as well as the left, with many calling for an apology.
Harris-Perry first posted on Twitter Tuesday: "I am sorry. Without reservation or qualification. I apologize to the Romney family." And Saturday, her first time back on air, she choked back tears.
" I am deeply sorry that we suggested that interracial families are in any way funny or deserving of ridicule." (Via MSNBC)
Some felt Harris-Perry's apology was genuine. Liberal commentator Sally Kohn had this to say on CNN Sunday:
"I really thought this was a textbook apology. You can tell she was sincere; she didn't qualify it. ... We can compare this to the many, many, many times people said things offensive ... and have tried to defend them or contextualize them."
And on the other hand, some didn't think so highly of the apology.
Including Alec Baldwin who tweeted Sunday, "If I cry, will I be forgiven all of my transgressions?" (Via Twitter / @ABFoundation)
He might have been referring to his own show on MSNBC that was canceled in November after just two weeks on the air. The cancellation followed an incident when he used a homophobic slur. (Via The Hollywood Gossip)
Romney also said Sunday he held "no ill will whatsoever" toward Harris-Perry or MSNBC.
