Apologies Accepted

Courtney Stodden, singer/model/author/actress, called out Chrissy Teigen, model/author/lifestyle guru, for being a hypocrite.  "Hypochrissy Teigen" she said, can dish it out but can't take it.  Chrissy, the Queen of Clapback on Twitter, has millions of followers thanks to her quick come-backs and sheer genius replies (when twitter feuding with a comedian she replied "much like your career, I have...

He hid for over 40 years, living his life and raising his kids.  From 1973 to 1986 he committed over 100 robberies, 50 sexual assaults, and 13 murders.  He is one of the most notorious serial killers alive today, and in August 2020, at the age of 74, he was sentenced to 13 consecutive life sentences.  He said little in court, but did offer an apology to the judge for the people that he had hurt. C...

In 1904 little Robert Eugene Otto was given a doll as a toy.  The doll became a playmate and confidant…and something more.  From childhood to the end of his life, the doll remained a presence in Eugene Otto’s life.  Locals claimed to see the doll move, to hear the doll speak, to see him looking out of the windows of the Otto House.  After Eugene died, the house and the doll were sold to a woman wh...

The word apology has come to mean “a way to repair damage for one’s own words or actions” but it started off as a legal term (we were legally required to explain that before making jokes).  From ancient Greece to Cardinal Wolsey to Shakespeare, the word has changed over time, but one thing has remained constant: judgment.  What makes a good apology?  What makes a bad one? If someone says “sorry” a...

In the early 2000s, Mario Lavandeira Jr., better known as Perez Hilton, was the self-proclaimed "Queen of all Media."  His celebrity gossip blog pulled in $50,000 a week in 2007, and Hollywood's A-listers dreaded being featured on his site.  He was friends with Lady GaGa and Paris Hilton (the inspiration behind his pseudonym), had offers for his own TV shows on VH1, and guest appearances on countl...

Alexi McCammond had landed a dream job as Chief Editor of Teen Vogue at the age of 27.  Her promising career as a political journalist had earned her a fair amount of respect from across the political spectrum, and Teen Vogue wanted to capitalize on her political connections and experience.  Instead they found their magazine, editorial board, HR department, staff, and advertisers dealing with a co...

One day in May of 2020, a reporter for the Kansas City Star was sent to cover a Black Lives Matter protest.  What she witnessed did not stack up against what the Star had been reporting: she saw peaceful protestors forcefully arrested, not the riotous mobs that the Star had said were roaming the streets.  She reviewed the Star's previous coverage and was shocked and saddened by what she uncovered,...

Jane Fonda is a long-time activist working on the right side of history: women's causes, workers' rights, LGBTQMNOPIA, and anti-war movements.  But while she's always fought the good fight, some people hate her with a white hot rage that has been burning for nearly 50 years.  What did she do that was so bad that half-a-century later protestors still picket her appearances?  Wasn't she just protest...

Spring Break is a rite of passage.  Blowing off steam and getting drunk with your friends at the beach is an American tradition that dates back to the 1930s.  Nothing is going to stop American college students from partying like it’s 1999, even if it is 2020 and the early stages of a global pandemic.  Who cares?!  There’s beer, and freedom, and beer, and national news crews tolling the streets loo...

Remember that time in the bible when Jesus was getting divorced, and his ex-wife didn’t want the kids to sleep over at his house with any paramours about?  Former Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, does!  Or rather, he tried to imagine what Jesus would do if HE had been caught having an adulterous affair with a hot Argentinian mistress and not hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Apparently it’s...

2020 was not a great year, not for most of the world, and certainly not for Ellen DeGeneres.  The opening monologue of Season 18 of The Ellen Show began with some jokes, included an apology, and finished with some more jokes.  But joking aside, behind the scenes stories told of a toxic work environment, rife with racism and sexual harassment.  Was Ellen simply a victim of her own PR, set-up for fa...

From National Joke in 2008 to National Treasure in 2020, Britney Spears has been a focus of the tabloid media.  She becomes the center of every story, even this one - because this episode is really about Justin Timberlake’s apology to Britney for how poorly he handled their break-up in 2004.  What does it mean to make an apology 20 years later – is it sincere or just a PR move? Even though it’s Ju...

Ted Yoho’s finest moment in history is being burned by AOC.  What compelled him to accost a congresswoman and call her names?  Did he call her a slur, or were his words misheard by a nearby reporter? We know why he felt he had the right to tell a woman what he thinks and how she should conduct herself, but didn’t he get the memo that AOC is not the one?  His non-apology is one for the ages and the...

Stanford!  It’s not Harvard, but it still has a lot going for it – but one of those things is not designing algorithms.  Due to a “very complex” algorithm written by Stanford staff, executive staff was prioritized to receive the Covid vaccine over front-line medical staff.  Of the 1,300 front-line medical residents, all who work directly with patients, only 7 residents (in math speak that's only 0...

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) issued an apology in January 2021 for its contributions to structural racism in psychiatry.  Founded in 1844, 20 years before the Civil War, the APA was a product of its times, and racism was hard-baked into its structure.  Recognizing the harm that "race based inequities" has caused, the APA takes note of its previous actions and will begin addressing th...

1970’s New York was a gritty laboratory that created both artists and criminals.  It was a place and time where the boundaries of art were challenged and broken.  Alan Bridge’s Apology Line was one artist’s experiment with art that became his own Frankenstein’s Monster.  Alan meant to tap into the human experience and bring art off of the canvas, to blur the lines between art and reality.  His art...

It’s our most science-y episode yet!  What is the coronavirus, what are vaccines, and how quickly can you get your shot?  Operation Warp Speed was the intended answer to all those questions.  It had a twofold promise: quick vaccine development (check!) and quick distribution (no check!).  The epic failure of the program has been explained as a simple error in math and a miscommunication.  “We are...

The American dream, beating Europeans at their own game!  Seven times Tour de France champion, king of cyclists, Lance Armstrong had it all.  He was an American hero, a survivor who beat all odds, who dreamed big and lived boldly.  And lied.  It all comes tumbling down and the Apologists are there to help make sense of the pieces.  Lance apologizes upon the alter of Oprah (all hail!) raising the q...

In these strange times we take you back to the more innocent days of childhood.  Stealing a bowlful of Halloween candy from your neighbor’s porch seems like a gentler crime from gentler days…but there is a social contract involved!  You aren’t allowed to trick anyone who has left you a treat.  That’s the rule.  So once you are found out, you’d better apologize.  We walk through the history of Hall...

We were only planning two bonus episodes, one for the Holiday Season and one for New Years, but we stupidly forgot about Wednesday, January 6 - Insurrection Day!  We bring you 4 apologies on this bonus episode: an attorney who worked for the Trump administration, two completely innocent civilians who “were just innocent bystanders” while live-streaming the insurrection at the Capitol, and one elec...