apology-related stories
What You Missed Last Night: Conan apologizes to Levi
Yesterday we posted video of William Shatner reading the tweets of Levi Johnston on The Tonight Show. Turns out Shatner read tweets from a fake Twitter account, and Johnston demanded an apology. He got one last night from Conan (well, sort of), but then we were treated to more Shatner. (Bonus: Conan mentions TMZ!)
[Watch clips and episodes of The Tonight Show and other shows at SlashControl.]
What You Missed Last Night: the Atone Phone
On The Colbert Report last night, Stephen Colbert was waiting by The Atone Phone for people to call him to apologize the way that they have wronged him. Unfortunately, his phone number is shared by someone else and he gets a call from another Comedy Central guy. (Video also here.)
What You Missed Last Night: Scoldplay
Are you sick of the whole Representative Joe Wilson controversy yet? Were you sick of it four or five days ago? Jon Stewart and The Daily Show are too, and last night they showed how the people asking for an apology from Wilson are being hypocritical, and how both sides do this all the time and then ask for an apology when the other side does it.
In other words, politics really suck.
In other words, politics really suck.
Regis and Kelly offended Dominicans? When?
Near the end of today's Live with Regis and Kelly, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa offered their apologies to the Dominican community over remarks they made on the show last week. It seemed like a sincere apology, even if it was read from a teleprompter. Anyway, since I don't watch the show every day, I had no idea what remark they were talking about. So I immediately fired up the ol' Google search machine and plugged in "regis kelly dominicans." Sure enough, a story (and accompanying video) came up from our cousins at TMZ about the Reege laughing at a joke where Kelly associates "donkeys" with "Dominicans," and the ensuing protest by Dominican organizations.
But then a click on the video clouds the issue a bit.
Continue reading Regis and Kelly offended Dominicans? When?
Watercooler Talk: What should you do following an on-air boner?
Yesterday's "news" that Jay Leno would apologize for his insensitive (and, quite frankly, bizarre) remarks to Ryan Phillipe got me thinking: is apologizing the best tactic to take when you've said something stupid on air?There certainly seems to be a double standard: guys like Charles Barkley or Donald Trump can seemingly say whatever they please, while "nice guys" like Jay Leno are constantly being taken to task for (relatively) benign transgressions. I've always wondered why that was the case, but didn't occur to me until today what the difference was -- Barkley and Trump never apologize for their insensitivity. In fact, they glory in it.
Continue reading Watercooler Talk: What should you do following an on-air boner?
Isaiah Washington apologizes again for slur against T.R. Knight; ABC "greatly dismayed"
Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington re-opened an old wound at the Golden Globes on Monday night, denying he ever called T.R. Knight a "faggot" in a highly-publicized incident last fall. Since then, Knight confirmed that Washington used the slur against him and co-star Katherine Heigl basically told the press that Washington should just shut his piehole.It's a-gettin' ugly out there, so Washington and ABC have decided to tell the press that they're all working on a solution to this. The network said that they are "greatly dismayed" at Washington's use of the slur yet again and that "his actions are unacceptable and are being addressed." What "being addressed" means is anyone's guess. Homophobe rehab, perhaps?
Rosie finally apologizes
The fall-out from Rosie's "ching-chong" moment on The View continues. In case you missed it, Rosie - commenting on Danny DeVito's drunken appearance on the show - said that the story was so huge that even Chinese papers were covering it. "Ching chong ching ching ching chong Danny DeVito ching ching chong drunk The View ching chong." To date, Rosie's response, made through her publicist, has been along the lines of "get over it." As you might imagine, this response hasn't exactly been embraced by certain Asian-American public figures and organizations including New York City Councilman John Liu. (You can see Liu's letter to Barbara Walters and other Asian-American organizations' responses to the incident at AngryAsianMan.com.)
Continue reading Rosie finally apologizes
Watch Michael Richards' appearance on Letterman
If you missed Michael Richards' appearance on Letterman's show last night after his racist tirade at a comedy club in West Hollywood, CBS' Late Show Web site has the video, which you can see here.
Setting aside Richards' racial slurs aside for a moment, watching the video of his onstage meltdown made me think of the kind of heated exchanges people get into where one becomes so enraged they reach deep into their reserves for the ultimate atomic bomb of an insult, the one word or phrase they can say that will completely flatten the person who is attacking them, and in Richard's case his racist comments . During his appearance on Letterman's show, Richards acknowledged that he lost his temper, and it seems fairly obvious to me that whatever self-censoring mechanism he had was overrode by his need to take down the people who were heckling him.
Continue reading Watch Michael Richards' appearance on Letterman
Jay Leno issues personal apologies
This story makes me wonder whether
Jay Leno is riddled with guilt over making fun of people on The Tonight Show. When he compared Dick Cheney's
hunting accident to a shooting outside a Los Angeles courthouse, he received a letter of complaint from a friend of the
L.A. victim. In response, Leno personally phoned the woman and offered her an apology, saying that he never meant to
hurt anybody. Leno also apologized to a distant relative of the doctor who set John Wilkes Booth's leg after he shot
President Abraham Lincoln. He said he made a mistake in the joke. The guy said he never complained to Leno, because he
knows it's just a joke and didn't take any offense. But, he appreciated the call anyway.Weird, eh? Maybe that explains why he kisses his guests' asses-- 'cuz he feels guilty for making fun of them.
Oprah tears James Frey apart, or The Smoking Gun was right
Author James Frey isn't much of an alcoholic, a drug addict or a criminal. He's a pathological liar. And Oprah
exposed him for what he is on her show today. Well, actually, The Smoking Gun exposed him for what he is back
on January 8th. Oprah just forced him into admitting that he lied in his so-called memoir about addiction and crime,
A Million Little Pieces. Oprah made that book number one on the best seller list when she included it in her
book club. It sold 1.77 million copies.Oprah opened her show by apologizing to viewers for trusting Frey so blindly that she called up Larry King when he was defending his lies book and voiced her support for him. To Frey's face, she said, "I really feel duped." Then, she proceeded to take him down. Inch by inch. God, I love this woman.
Continue reading Oprah tears James Frey apart, or The Smoking Gun was right
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
