Actor makes huge faux pas with “colored actors” comment, releases genuine apology and promise to make it better

Jan 28, 2015 16:12 GMT  ·  By

Celebrities, like us mere mortals, have problems admitting when they’re wrong, especially when their mistake, of whatever nature it might be, gets a lot of media attention. It’s like the bigger and more mediated the mistake, the more they refuse to just own up to it.

Celebrity apologies these days usually go something along the lines of “I am sorry anyone was offended” or “I apologize to those who were offended,” both of which are a long way from “I’m sorry I was wrong / I offended” or a simple “I am sorry for everything,” because they shift the focus and partially the blame from the celebrity in question to those who found offense. Semantics.

Benedict Cumberbatch, his plea for diversity and the “colored actors” comment

Earlier this week, Benedict Cumberbatch sat down for an interview with PBS’ Tavis Smiley, because he is still campaigning hard for an Oscar for Best Actor for his role in “The Imitation Game” and PBS just so happens to carry his BBC One series “Sherlock” in America.

In between talking about the film, he also tackled the very serious topic of the need for more diversity in showbiz. This wasn’t random either, because this year’s Oscars, for instance, are almost entirely white, a fact that has reopened the years-old debate on the lack of diversity in film.

That’s one of the things that require more attention, Cumberbatch said (video available on PBS), but the situation is considerably worse in the UK than in the US.

“I think as far as colored actors go it gets really difficult in the UK, and a lot of my friends have had more opportunities here [in the US] than in the UK and that’s something that needs to change. Something’s gone wrong, we’re not representative enough in our culture of different races and that really does need to step up a pace,” he said. The emphasis is mine.

Within minutes, voices online on social media but also big groups like the British group Show Racism the Red Card were pointing to Cumberbatch that the term “colored” is outdated and racist because of “its historical usage.”

So Cumberbatch, an actor that had done no wrong until then, found himself in the midst of his first scandal.

The apology

He didn’t let this spin out of control, though, releasing a statement to Sky News in which he fully owned up to his mistake and to his ignorance. Again, this is not something that many celebrities do, mostly because they assume that whatever controversy they may have caused will blow over if they just keep quiet about it.

Here is Cumberbatch’s apology in full:

“I’m devastated to have caused offense by using this outmoded terminology. I offer my sincere apologies. I make no excuse for being an idiot and know the damage is done. I can only hope this incident will highlight the need for correct usage of terminology that is accurate and inoffensive. The most shaming aspect of this for me is that I was talking about racial inequality in the performing arts in the UK and the need for rapid improvements in our industry when I used the term.”

“I feel the complete fool I am and while I am sorry to have offended people and to learn from my mistakes in such a public manner please be assured I have. I apologize again to anyone who I offended for this thoughtless use of inappropriate language about an issue which affects friends of mine and which I care about deeply.”

An honest, solid apology

It’s not just the fact that Cumberbatch admits to being an “idiot” for using outdated and offensive terminology, or the fact that he labels himself as a “fool” in the same context, that makes his apology the “right” kind of apology.

For once, we have a celebrity who did something wrong publicly, who was informed of his mistake and who then totally owns it. He used the term because he did not know better; but now that he does, he is sorry for what he said while still ignorant.

For once, we have a celebrity who isn’t thinking about saving face, or even worse, who’s trying to make criticism go away by pretending to apologize while not really doing so (the I’m sorry I’m not sorry-type of apologists), but one that says the right words at the right time. For what it’s worth, he seems honest about it too.

We could all use a bit more honesty in showbiz – and people like Cumberbatch.