Top 6 Offensive Tweets And Twitter Apologies

Recently, Macklemore found himself at the center of a controversy when he dressed up as what many perceived to be a stereotype of a Jewish man. Following the public outcry, which made him seem anti-Semitic, he defended himself (to Seth Rogen) on Twitter. He eventually caved from the backlash and wrote up a heavy apology.

People screw up all the time, and when it’s something insensitive and bigoted that’s been said, an apology is rightfully due. And nothing makes it more official than apologies made publicly on a massive social networking platform like Twitter.

LA Kings Apologized for Sexual Assault Joke

Let’s face it; jokes on sexual assault are never okay. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), an American is sexually assaulted every 2 minutes, with about 237,868 attacks every year. When radio show host Kevin Ryder used the LA Kings official Twitter account to make an insensitive joke on the topic, the organization was quick to apology on Twitter, making it clear his thoughts do not reflect theirs.

Ryder also apologized on his own Twitter account, writing, “I made a poor choice in the wording of my tweet. I wish I had used different words. If you were hurt by me, I'm sorry.”

Daniel Tosh Apologized for Rape Joke

I know Daniel Tosh is the nastiest, meanest comedic personality out there, and I’ll be the first to admit that I enjoy Tosh.0 very much, but I think Tosh took this rape joke too far. During a standup routine at the Laugh Factory in 2012, he went on making rape jokes, causing a woman to stand up and face the comedic terror, declaring that rape jokes are not funny. Tosh rewarded her bravery by turning her into the butt of the joke: “Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl got raped by like, 5 guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her…” Ouch.

I actually read her tumblr post of what happened in her perspective and I felt pretty bad for her. In her blog post she says, “It was humiliating, of course, especially as the audience guffawed in response to Tosh, their eyes following us as we made our way out of there.”

Following a media uproar, Tosh publicly apologized for his joke on Twitter, and as we all may know, an apology from this guy is hard to come by.

Kasey Kahne Apologized for Comments on Breastfeeding

Whether you’re pro or against breastfeeding in public isn’t the issue here. NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne effectively insulted the pro side when he made it known that he was disgusted when he saw a woman breastfeeding at a supermarket, “Just walking though supermarket. See a mom breast feeding little kid. Took second look because obviously I was seeing things. I wasn’t! #nasty.”

Of course, Kasey later turned to another social media platform, Facebook, to apologize for his offensive comments. “I understand that my comments regarding breastfeeding posted on Twitter were offensive to some people. For that, I apologize,” Kahne wrote. “It was in no way my intention to offend any mother who chooses to breastfeed her child, or, for that matter, anyone who supports breast feeding children. I want to make that clear.”

Jason Whitlock Apologized for Outwardly Racist Comment

Jason Whitlock’s tweet read, “Some lucky lady in NYC is gonna feel a couple inches of pain tonight.” Know who this tweet was directed at? Basketball player Jeremy Lin. The Tweet refers to an unflattering stereotype about Asian men, and while Whitlock did apologize for the crass comment, the apology wasn’t a very good one. He blamed the offensive remark on his “immature, sophomoric, comedic nature.” Okay, so he admitted that he was a terrible person or whatever, fine. But he sure didn’t sound sorry:

“I then gave in to another part of my personality – my immature, sophomoric, comedic nature. It's been with me since birth, a gift from my mother and honed as a child listening to my godmother's Richard Pryor albums. I still want to be a standup comedian.”

Rashida Jones Apologized for Calling John Travolta Gay

I’m just going go out and say that I love Rashida Jones, and I’m a huge Parks and Recreation fan. But I have to agree that forcing anyone out of the closet is never appropriate and is a bit insensitive. John Travolta had faced many rumors about his sexuality, but given the fact that the entertainment industry is more open minded about gay actors, I’m sure he would come out if he really was. So it wasn’t in Miss Jones’ place to encourage him to come out publicly. She later appropriately stated that a person’s personal life is none of her business.

Rupert Murdoch Apologized for Gerald Scharfe’s Offensive Cartoon

Back in 2012, the Sunday Times offended many of their readers through an offensive cartoon that expressed anti-Semitic stereotypes by artist Gerald Scharfe. Rupert Murdoch was forced to apologize on Twitter saying, “…we owe major apology for grotesque, offensive cartoon,” and clarified that Scharfe’s actions did not reflect the newspaper’s ideas and opinions.