We tend to envy celebrities for their glamorous lives, wealth and notoriety. But sometimes being a household name can come back to bite you—especially when you screw up. Celebrities have had to apologize to fans, spouses, children, and to entire cities and countries! In honor of National Reconciliation Day on April 2, here are 10 famous—or infamous—celebrity apologies.
1. Paula Deen. The celebrity chef had a lousy 2013, first when it was revealed that the queen of cooking with salt, fat, sugar, butter and carbs is diabetic. The second blow came when, after she was sued for discrimination, she was forced to reveal having used racial slurs in the past, included the “N” word. Sponsors dropped her like a hot, butter and sour-cream covered baked potato. Deen apologized at a public cooking event this year, likely the first of many mea culpas she’ll be offering.
Read Related: Why You Should Forgive, But Not Forget
2. Reese Witherspoon. America’s sweetheart and her husband get drunk; he gets a DUI and she argues with cops? Say it isn’t so! But the out of character incident did in fact happen in April, 2013, and Witherspoon gave a very thorough apology on Good Morning America. She apologized to the police officer she yelled at, and reflected that the hardest part of the incident was explaining it to her kids.
3. Kanye West. Bizarre, they name is Kanye West. The egomaniacal rapper infamously rushed the stage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the 2009 MTV VMAs. He grabbed the mic from swift and uttered a brief rant about how Beyonce should have won. He apologized a short time later but in 2013, took back his apology, saying he felt pressured to make a public apology to Swift. Umm, okay…
4. Alec Baldwin. The political activist and actor’s mouth has gotten him in trouble before, like when ex-wife Kim Basinger released a recording of him calling daughter Ireland a “little pig.” More recently, Baldwin yelled a gay slur at a photographer while chasing him down the street. His apology wasn’t good enough for MSNBC, which cancelled his new talk show.
5. Chris Brown. Everyone remembers the 2009 altercation between Rihanna and then-boyfriend Chris Brown, which left Rihanna bloodied and bruised. It took him a while, but Brown finally apologized publicly to Rihanna and to their fans, saying he wished he’d handled the situation “both differently and better.” Though they’ve been romantically linked since, it now appears that Rihanna has finally wised up and kicked Brown to the curb.
6. Tiger Woods. In the wake of allegations of multiple affairs, girlfriends and hook-ups, golfer Tiger Woods held a press conference to fess up and say he was sorry to wife Elin, his children and to his public. A subsequent Nike commercial of a silent, crying Woods made everyone question his sincerity. Elin filed for divorce a short time later.
7. Kristen Stewart. Twilight couple Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson unraveled in the public eye after photos leaked showing Stewart embracing and kissing director Rupert Sanders. Stewart issued a public, pleading apology to Pattinson, which initially seemed to do the trick. But the vampire couple, along with Sanders and his wife, broke up a short time later.
8. Lance Armstrong. The cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France winner had been dogged by rumors of doping, which he vehemently denied, for his entire career. When finally forced to admit using illegal performance enhancing drugs, Armstrong was stripped of his Tour titles, lost sponsors and removed as director of his own charity, Livestrong. He apologized in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, but has kept a decidedly low profile ever since.
9. Bill Clinton. Who can forget Monicagate and the infamous blue dress? Clinton’s affair with young intern Monica Lewinsky threw a black cloud over an otherwise successful presidency. Lewinsky and Clinton have gone their separate ways—she as a purse designer and Jenny Craig spokesperson, he with the Clinton Global Initiative. Time will tell if wife Hillary lets him join her on the campaign trail.
10. Mel Gibson. When actor Mel Gibson was arrested for DUI in 2006, fans got a public showing of the actor’s volatile side when he hurled a profanity-filled, anti-Semitic rant at the arresting officer. An apology soon followed, but in 2010, leaked phone calls between Gibson and his estranged girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva cemented his reputation for a mean temper. His career has been in neutral ever since.
