Feb 17, 2009 10:00 am US/Eastern
Expert: Scandalized Stars' Apologies Manipulation
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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(Clockwise from top left): Chris Brown, Michael Phelps, Alex Rodriguez and Christian Bale have all had to issue apologies recently.
Jason Merritt/Kevork Djansezian/Marc Serota/Getty Images/CBS
A long line of celebrities have made the headlines recently, forced to apologize for behaving badly, reports CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago.
"Love means never having to say you're sorry," says the classic line from the 1970 movie "Love Story." But love has nothing to do with why everyone is apologizing these days.
R&B star
Chris Brown, who has gone from super hot to the hot seat, said, "Words alone cannot express how sorry I am" for allegedly slugging girlfriend Rihanna.
Michael Phelps was caught recently in a newspaper photo smoking pot from a bong. Afterward, he said: "I made a mistake. I used bad judgment, and I need to learn from it, and will learn from it."
Baseball superstar
Alex Rodriguez had this to say when he was discovered to have lied about steroids: "I'm very sorry."
"Batman" star
Christian Bale had to apologize for demanding more than an apology when he went off on a cinematographer on the set of his new movie, "Terminator Salvation." Bale called himself "out of order beyond belief."
In fact, hardly a day goes by without someone apologizing for something, and quite frankly, people are sick of it.
"You'd hope that they'd be honest, but I feel like it's a little forced," said Elyce Shapiro of Chicago.
"I think they're sorry they got caught," said Cheryl Martin of Lake Geneva.
"Everyone has an apology. Everyone has an excuse," said Jonathon Craft of Chicago. "Don't apologize. Just shut up and go on with your life."
Sam Chapman of Empower Public Relations said these reactions are not surprising.
"The U.S. public is very forgiving. We just don't like being manipulated," Chapman said, "and all of (the apologies) are manipulation."
Chapman was hired after the
Rev. Jesse Jackson fumbled an apology to President Barack Obama for remarks he whispered on live TV.
"When you make mistakes, you shouldn't equivocate," Jackson said last July. "You should be quick to go on the offensive and not be evasive."
What did he just say?
"The public knows how to sniff out a bad excuse better than ever, but that doesn't mean you should never say, 'I'm sorry,'" said Dennis Culloton of Res Publica Group.
Just ask President Obama. .
"I think I messed up," Obama said after Health and Human Services secretary-nominee Tom Daschle withdrew over concerns about his taxes. "I screwed up in not recognizing the perception that even though this is an honest mistake…"
"I was like, cool! I love that a politician is finally saying, 'I screwed up,' because you don't often hear that," said Kelly Standing of Chicago.
Actually, you do hear that from politicians. You just don't believe them.
Experts say the apology must be authentic, sincere, and followed by rehab, counseling, something to convince people things will be different.
Hugh Grant survived soliciting a prostitute, Mel Gibson, an anti-Semitic rant. But there are others with whose repeated apologies now fall on deaf ears.
Maybe people should remember the old proverb, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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