Let’s face it, every single human has or will make mistakes in their lives. But for celebrities, we place them on such a high pedestal that when they do slightly fall from grace, they scramble to win back our love with a heartfelt, sincere apology.
Check out these celebs who’ve begged for forgiveness in 2016.
1. Johnny Depp & Amber Heard
In an attempt to keep Amber Heard from doing jail time after she pleaded guilty to illegally taking her dogs into Australia, she and Johnny Depp recorded a bizarre 42-second video expressing the importance of declaring all animals upon entering the country. The video was so weird, even Johnny joked about it after.
2. Billy Bush
After shocking audio leaked back in October featuring former ‘Access Hollywood’ co-host Billy Bush having a lewd conversation with Donald Trump, Bush went into damage control, apologizing whenever he could. Ultimately, he was fired from NBC, and Donald Trump became President-elect of the United States.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is known for his passionate outbursts, but his heated critique of Carmelo Anthony back in August caused him to go viral, and apologize profusely after. Anthony reportedly spoke to Smith after the host ripped the star for saying he’d still be proud if he finished his career with no rings. After their talk, Smith changed his entire tune on the issue.
4. Ryan Lochte
The Olympic swimmer may have taken the biggest L of 2016. Lochte made up a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio during the Olympics this summer. But when the story was discovered to be false, the athlete went on to apologize everywhere from Twitter to ‘The Today Show.’ He even joined DWTS in an attempt to rebrand his image.
5. Nate Parker
The 16-year-old rape allegations that came to light in advance of the release of Nate Parker’s Nat Turner biopic, ‘The Birth of a Nation,’ left many fans wondering how to feel about the director. Unlike other stars, Parker didn’t exactly apologize. He did say, “I was falsely accused. I went to court. I sat in trial. I was proven innocent. And I feel terrible that this woman isn’t here.”
6. The Philadelphia 76ers
Back in October, the Philadelphia 76ers blocked Sevyn Streeter from singing the National Anthem over her “We Matter” shirt. After several players became upset with the decision, they complained to management and the team released an apology: “After receiving feedback from our players, we believe that the wrong decision was made, and Sevyn should have been welcome to sing.” The team invited her back to perform.
7. Waka Flocka Flame
Tammy Rivera made it known on ‘Love & Hip Hop Atlanta’ that she and her husband Waka were going forward with their separation because of his infidelity. Maybe it was a mixture of regret and seeing his mom cry over Tammy’s heartbreak, but Waka did everything in his power to get his girl back. He started by tweeting his apologies, then opted to go off the grid to work on his family.
8. Azealia Banks
There are many times Azealia Banks has done something off the wall that fans felt like she should apologize for. But in 2016, her homophobic and racist rant against Zayn Malik even made the bad girl feel she should apologize. She penned a heartfelt apology letter to the singer, saying, “I want and need to say I am sorry, I was wrong.”
9. Lena Dunham
In an interview with Amy Schumer released earlier this year, Lena Dunham faced backlash for joking about Odell Beckham Jr. ignoring her because she thought he didn’t want to sleep with her at the Met Gala. She issued an apology on Instagram, saying, “I went ahead and projected these insecurities and made totally narcissistic assumptions about what he was thinking. I feel terrible about it.”
10. Kanye West
2016 was the year of the rant (and apology) for Kanye West. After going in on Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose and their son on Twitter, he also used the network to share that the petty beef was over, tweeting, “Me and Wiz spoke yesterday. Great convo. All positive.”
