25 Celebrities Who Have Apologized for Disappointing Fans

Oh, Rod Stewart… why?

Stewart has apologized for a video that surfaced on social media showing what appears to be him re-enacting a mock execution. According to Stewart, he and his friends were “playing out Game of Thrones” before a show in Abu Dhabi.

“Understandably, this has been misinterpreted and I send my deepest apologies to those who have been offended,” he said.

The clip was posted on his wife Penny Lancaster’s Instagram account but has since been deleted.

After being caught licking a doughnut on display in a Los Angeles area doughnut shop and making some extremely unpatriotic comments in the same visit, Grande issued two apology statements to fans. 

“I wanted to make a video to apologize again for the whole doughnut fiasco and craziness, because I feel like the apology that I posted, I kind of missed my opportunity to actually sincerely apologize and express how I was feeling, because I was busy preaching about my issues with the food industry,” the pop star said. “So here I am, apologizing again. I was trying to get you to understand where I was coming from when I said what I said. But that’s not important and I’d rather just apologize.”

The View hosts Joy Behar and Michelle Collins issued a half-hearted apology to all of their RN fans after making fun of Miss Colorado for doing a monologue about nursing during the talent portion of the Miss America pageant.

“I want to say, we love nurses. If you’re watching, we adore you, respect you. Clap for nurses,” Collins said on a subsequent show after coming under extreme criticism for her remarks.

In another incident stemming from The View, Osbourne issued an apology after making a racist comment about Latinos.

“In this particular case, I will take responsibility for my poor choice of words, but I will not apologize for being a racist as I am NOT,” Osbourne said. She went on to confess she “whole-hearted f***ed up” and she doesn’t want to “bullshit anyone with lame excuses.”

Cumberbatch offered a sweet apology to the family of 14-year-old Sherlock superfan Eve Shepherd after missing the teenager’s funeral.

“I send my deepest sympathies to Eve’s family. To lose someone so young who fought for her health all her life must be beyond endurance. I hope they can take solace from the fact that she was clearly much loved and her support of our show is hugely appreciated and shall be remembered,” he said. “I wish I could be there but sadly am filming the show that she loved.”

Fiona Apple issued a four-page apology letter to all of her South American fans after she canceled that entire leg of her tour for a very sad reason.

“I can’t come to South America. Not now,” she wrote. “[My dog] has Addison’s disease, which makes it dangerous for her to travel since she needs regular injections of Cortisol, because she reacts to stress and to excitement without the physiological tools which keep most of us from literally panicking to death.”

After offending a ton of fans on Facebook for making nasty comments about conjoined twins and referencing American Horror Story, Evans offered an apology. Or rather, her “people” did.

“We are very sorry about the ‘American Horror’ post that got published a few hours ago. Jenelle has a few people who run her fan pages and do PR work, and that post was published without Jenelle’s knowledge. She wants to issue an apology to anyone it offended and wants everyone to know she would never make a comment like that about anyone. We are very sorry for the error. Thanks-Jenn,” was written on Evans’ Facebook wall.

Fans didn’t buy it.

Mandel saw the error in his ways after making a tacky bulimia joke on America’s Got Talent.

“I am NOT perfect. I make mistakes. I sincerely apologize to everyone who was offended,” he tweeted.

After Palin broke off her engagement, she went radio silent for a while, but she took to her blog to address her loyal fans once she got things together.

“I feel like I need to address the elephant-in-the-room on this blog, since you guys have been with me through thick and thin. When I first got engaged, you were the first ones I wanted to tell,” Palin wrote. “I guess you have seen by now that the wedding — that was supposed to happen last weekend — was called off. I’m sure you’ve seen this has been all over the media, but this is a painful time for family and friends and I would just really appreciate your prayers.”

On her Facebook page, she shared the blog post, along with the message, “Sorry it’s taken me so long to talk about this… it’s been hard.”

Madonna issued a mea culpa in Us Weekly for using a racial slur in an Instagram post that upset many fans.

“I am sorry if I offended anyone with my use of the N-word on Instagram. It was not meant as a racial slur… I am not a racist,” she said.

“There’s no way to defend the use of the word. It was all about intention… It was used as a term of endearment toward my son, who is white. I appreciate that it’s a provocative word, and I apologize if it gave people the wrong impression. Forgive me.”

Sorkin issued an apology for his treatment of the news on the hit show Newsroom, when fans felt that the Hollywood heavyweight was using the program to be preachy and offer his own suggestions on how news should be handled in real life.

“I think that there’s been a terrible misunderstanding. I did not set the show (The Newsroom) in the recent past in order to show the pros how it should have been done. That was and remains the furthest thing from my mind. I set the show in the recent past because I didn’t want to make up fake news,” Sorkin said.

“It was going to be weird if the world that these people were living in did not in any way resemble the world that you were living in, so I didn’t want to make up fake news, and also, I wanted the option of having a terrific dynamic that you can get when the audience knows more than the characters do… So, I wasn’t trying to and I’m not capable of teaching a professional journalist a lesson. That wasn’t my intent, and it’s never my intent to teach you a lesson or to try to persuade you of anything.”

In 2013, Bacon committed the ultimate sin when he tweeted a crucial spoiler about the show The Following before international fans were able to view it. Twitter came down on Bacon hard, and the actor quickly realized his mistake.

“To all the fans abroad and late watchers I’m truly sorry I retweeted a spoiler,” he tweeted. “I just wasn’t thinking. Won’t happen again.”

Benson felt the wrath of animal-loving fans after posting this photo of herself in costume with the caption, “Help! Can’t decide on my Halloween costume this year! What do you guys think of this cecil the lion costume? @Yandy #ThanksYandy #Halloweencostume.”

She took to Instagram to address fan concerns.

“Yesterday’s post was in poor taste and I absolutely regret all of the hurt that photo caused,” she wrote, adding, “I love you all and I apologize if I let you down.”

Bieber issued a statement on the scandal following the release of a video showing him changing the lyrics to his hit “One Less Lonely Girl” to “One Less Lonely N*****.”

“I’m very sorry. I take my friendships with people of all cultures very seriously and apologize for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable mistake,” he said. “I was a kid then and I am a man now who knows my responsibility to the world and to not make that mistake again.”

After posting a seriously offensive pic on Instagram that made a joke about the KKK, Kardashian apologized to fans via Instagram, sort of.

“We’re all equally f****ed up,” Khloé’s message read. “Some only hide it better.”

“I apologize to all the wishful thinkers for my disappointing non-presence,” Radcliffe said after devastating Harry Potter fans when he was a no-show to Comic-Con in 2010, according to Hero Complex.

“I used to do a lot of short dumb jokes like this. I played a dumb white girl onstage. I still do sometimes. Once I realized I had more eyes and ears on me and had an influence I stopped telling jokes like that onstage,” Schumer responded to a Twitter user who asked the comedian to  explain her “responsibility/value system as a storyteller,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I am evolving as an artist,” she added. “I am taking responsibility and hope I haven’t hurt anyone. I apologize [if] I did.”

Martin made a full apology on Twitter after offending many fans by posting a racist tweet, according to People, adding, “Comedy is treacherous. I used to try out jokes in clubs and the audience’s feedback would tell me when I had crossed a line, or how to shape a joke so it is clear. Today, the process is faster. It’s your brain, a button, then millions of reactions. But it’s my job to know.”

Rogen issued a lengthy apology on Twitter after making comments that essentially compared the film American Sniper to Nazi propaganda. 

“My grandfather was a veteran. My comment about the movie was not meant to have any political implications,” reads an excerpt from Rogen’s tweet.

Fans were outraged after Morgan’s stand-up act in 2011, when the comedian said he’d kill his son if he were gay and that being gay is a choice.

“I didn’t mean it. I don’t have a hateful bone in my body,” Morgan said in a statement during a press conference, according to The Huffington Post. “I don’t believe that anyone should be bullied or just made to feel bad about who they are. I totally feel that, in my heart, I really don’t care who you love, same-sex or not, as long as you have the ability to love. So now, at this point in my life, it’s an opportunity to make a difference, I don’t really see gay or straight, I just see human beings.”

Rancic angered a ton of Fashion Police viewers when she made a quip about Zendaya’s dreadlocks smelling like patchouli and weed. She went on air several days later to apologize for her comment.

“I just want everyone to know I didn’t intend to hurt anybody, but I learned it is not my intent that matters,” Rancic said. “It’s the result. And the result is that people are offended, including Zendaya. And that is not OK.

“Therefore, I want to say to Zendaya, and anyone else out there that I have hurt, that I am so, so sincerely sorry,” she continued. “This really has been a learning experience for me. I’ve learned a lot today, and this incident has taught me to be a lot more aware of clichés and stereotypes, [and] how much damage they can do. And that I am responsible, as we all are, to not perpetuate them further. Thank you for listening.”

“I once heard, and I believe it is true, it’s not what you achieve in life that matters, it is what you overcome,” Woods said in a press conference after his sex scandal broke in 2010, via CNN.

“Achievements on the golf course are only part of setting an example,” he continued. “Character and decency are what really count. Parents used to point to me as a role model for their kids. I owe all of those families a special apology. I want to say to them that I am truly sorry.”

Julianne got called out for the racist nature of her Halloween costume in 2013, when she was photographed at a Hollywood party sporting blackface.

“I am a huge fan of the show Orange Is the New Black, actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created,” the Safe Haven star tweeted shortly after the photo surfaced. “It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize.”

“I am sorry,” Williams told Matt Lauer during an interview for the Today Show after it was revealed he had fabricated stories about his involvement in newsworthy incidents. “I am sorry for what happened. I am different as a result, and I expect to be held to a different standard.”

“Looking back, it had to have been ego that made me think I had to be sharper, funnier, quicker than anybody else, put myself closer to the action, having been at the action at the beginning,” he added.

Hill issued a very heartfelt apology on The Tonight Show, after he called a paparazzo a homophobic slur out of anger.

“My heart’s broken. I’m genuinely deeply sorry to anyone who has ever been affected by that term in their life. I’m sorry and I don’t deserve or expect your forgiveness,” Hill said, adding, “But what I ask is that if you’re at home, if you’re watching this and you’re a young person especially, if someone says something that hurts you or angers you, use me an example of what not to do. And don’t respond with hatred or anger, because you’re just adding more ugliness to the world. Again, I’m so sorry.”