Apologies Accepted

Perez Hilton: Dirty Laundry, Easy Money

In the early 2000s, Mario Lavandeira Jr., better known as Perez Hilton, was the self-proclaimed "Queen of all Media."  His celebrity gossip blog pulled in $50,000 a week in 2007, and Hollywood's A-listers dreaded being featured on his site.  He was friends with Lady GaGa and Paris Hilton (the inspiration behind his pseudonym), had offers for his own TV shows on VH1, and guest appearances on countless celebrity news shows.  He shot to fame at just the right time, blogs were new and celebrities were badly behaved. His mean-girl name calling and 3rd-grade photo editing skills were as much a feature of his blog as the celebrities he covered.  But the culture started to shift and Perez Hilton, Queen of dirty laundry, found himself having to clean-up his act or be canceled.

The same is true for Elaine Lui, founder of Lainey Gossip, another famous website from the early 2000s that was known for its cruel humor.  Elaine has apologized for her past remarks and has made an effort to "do better."  Has she?  What does she share in common with Perez Hilton and where do they differ?

The Apologists bring you all the latest breaking news on celebrity bloggers who have found out the hard way that being mean might pay but Karma is indeed a b*tch.

Alexi McCammond: Teen Racism is not in Vogue

Alexi McCammond had landed a dream job as Chief Editor of Teen Vogue at the age of 27.  Her promising career as a political journalist had earned her a fair amount of respect from across the political spectrum, and Teen Vogue wanted to capitalize on her political connections and experience.  Instead they found their magazine, editorial board, HR department, staff, and advertisers dealing with a controversy over anti-Asian tweets that teen Alexi tweeted out 10 years ago.  Sure, she had deleted the tweets and apologized publicly a few years ago, and she had been very transparent with Vogue that such tweets "were out there," but some members of staff at Teen Vogue weren't impressed with her apology or her transparency.  Then a national tragedy happened and Alexi was faced with the decision of a lifetime - resign and move on or try to stay and fight.

The Apologists tackle the question of the digital age: have we lost the ability to forgive?

Kansas City Star - The News in Black and White

One day in May of 2020, a reporter for the Kansas City Star was sent to cover a Black Lives Matter protest.  What she witnessed did not stack up against what the Star had been reporting: she saw peaceful protestors forcefully arrested, not the riotous mobs that the Star had said were roaming the streets.  She reviewed the Star's previous coverage and was shocked and saddened by what she uncovered, 140 years of painting people of color as thieves and ignoring them completely otherwise.  She suggested to her editor that the Star review its previous coverage, resulting in a public apology from the paper.

The Kansas City Star takes itself to task and the Apologists are here to examine the apology and review the history of the paper along with some of the history makers who wrote (or delivered papers) for the Star.

Jane Fonda: The Revolution Will Be Televised

Jane Fonda is a long-time activist working on the right side of history: women's causes, workers' rights, LGBTQMNOPIA, and anti-war movements.  But while she's always fought the good fight, some people hate her with a white hot rage that has been burning for nearly 50 years.  What did she do that was so bad that half-a-century later protestors still picket her appearances?  Wasn't she just protesting the Vietnam War like thousands of other flower-power hippies?  From Paris to Montana to Hollywood, Jane Fonda makes no apologies for living her best life...but she does have one regret that she will never stop apologizing for.

The Apologists review the life and political activities of Jane Fonda, Hollywood Royalty and exceptional standout from Hollywood's worst club, "The Children Of."

Spring Break vs Spring Fever

Spring Break is a rite of passage.  Blowing off steam and getting drunk with your friends at the beach is an American tradition that dates back to the 1930s.  Nothing is going to stop American college students from partying like it’s 1999, even if it is 2020 and the early stages of a global pandemic.  Who cares?!  There’s beer, and freedom, and beer, and national news crews tolling the streets looking for drunken college kids to interview.  One member of Gen Z found out the hard way that lots of people still watch the national news.  His apology came 5 days later (on Insta because he’s Gen Z) after becoming the poster-boy for selfish kids who don’t care about their grandparents.  The national scorn he received sent him to the depths of his family’s basement for some soul searching, followed by an outburst of artistic creativity, which he released to the world to teach others lessons he himself learned the hard way.

The Apologists consider how accountable 20-somethings are for their own actions versus how culpable the is media for interviewing drunk college students.

Mark Sanford: The Mark of the Beast

Remember that time in the bible when Jesus was getting divorced, and his ex-wife didn’t want the kids to sleep over at his house with any paramours about?  Former Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, does!  Or rather, he tried to imagine what Jesus would do if HE had been caught having an adulterous affair with a hot Argentinian mistress and not hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Apparently it’s exactly the same thing that Governor Sanford did so everything turned out peachy.

Mr. Sanford was quick to impeach Bill Clinton for having an affair and even quicker to forgive himself for the same transgression.  But it was a forgiveness that came after several very public apologies and some help from his political-religious group, The Family.  The good news is that The Family (aka The Fellowship) has a lot of experience helping politicians deal with infidelities, they really understand politics, and religion, and exactly how Heaven wants things ordered on Earth. 

From C Street to your street, the Apologists tackle Apocalyptic Christianity’s influence in 21^st Century politics.

 

Ellen DeGeneres: The Be Kind (of Nice) Lady

2020 was not a great year, not for most of the world, and certainly not for Ellen DeGeneres.  The opening monologue of Season 18 of The Ellen Show began with some jokes, included an apology, and finished with some more jokes.  But joking aside, behind the scenes stories told of a toxic work environment, rife with racism and sexual harassment.  Was Ellen simply a victim of her own PR, set-up for failure with the nickname of “The Be Kind Lady,” or is she just playing nice for the camera?  How does one apologize for being human?

Fresh from our secret vault of 2020 shows, here’s a never-before-released episode from Friday the 13^th of November 2020.

Britney Spears – Leave Britney Alone!

From National Joke in 2008 to National Treasure in 2020, Britney Spears has been a focus of the tabloid media.  She becomes the center of every story, even this one - because this episode is really about Justin Timberlake’s apology to Britney for how poorly he handled their break-up in 2004.  What does it mean to make an apology 20 years later – is it sincere or just a PR move?

Even though it’s Justin Timberlake’s apology, we’re focused on Britney and her story. Is she truly unable to care for herself, or is there something more going on behind the scenes that we don’t know?  Shout out to Britney’s Gram podcast and the loyal fans of the #FreeBritney movement: Gimme More.

Ted Yoho: Urine Trouble Now

Ted Yoho’s finest moment in history is being burned by AOC.  What compelled him to accost a congresswoman and call her names?  Did he call her a slur, or were his words misheard by a nearby reporter? We know why he felt he had the right to tell a woman what he thinks and how she should conduct herself, but didn’t he get the memo that AOC is not the one? 

His non-apology is one for the ages and the Apologists are here to consider his apology and rank his effort.

Note:  We know, we know...Liza Minnelli did not star in the original “A Star is Born”.  That was her mother, Barbra Streisand.

Stanford: The (Algo)rhythm is Gonna Get You

Stanford!  It’s not Harvard, but it still has a lot going for it – but one of those things is not designing algorithms.  Due to a “very complex” algorithm written by Stanford staff, executive staff was prioritized to receive the Covid vaccine over front-line medical staff.  Of the 1,300 front-line medical residents, all who work directly with patients, only 7 residents (in math speak that's only 0.005 percent) were on the list to be vaccinated.  Many of the executive staff who were prioritized work from home and don’t see patients.  The medical residents and hospital staff protested, and Stanford quickly apologized for the issues the “complex algorithm” had accidentally created. 

This incident highlights the eternal theme of “us versus them,” a theme that can be found in Stanford's own origin story.  We explore this idea and carry it into issues around West Coast vs East Coast, wages for men vs women, and octopi vs octopuses!