When celebrities face public scandals, they often turn to TV to salvage their reputation. Join us as we explore the most memorable and cringe-worthy attempts by stars to explain away their most controversial moments.
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00:00Are you worried you're going to relapse?
00:02No.
00:03Why?
00:04Because I'm not going to.
00:05Period.
00:06The end.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:08And today we'll be looking at the most notable times when celebrities who are at the center
00:13of crippling scandals hit the TV circuit to try and explain it all away.
00:18Hate me if you want to, love me if you want, but just use your common sense.
00:23Will Smith.
00:24But it is one of the best days of your life and one of the worst days of your life.
00:29It's now infamous as the slap heard around the world.
00:33At the 2022 Oscars, actor Will Smith stunned everyone when he slapped Chris Rock over a
00:39joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
00:42The incident sparked global debate and led to a series of apologies from Smith.
00:47Months later, the actor appeared on The Daily Show for his first televised interview since
00:52the event, describing it as a horrific night.
00:55Yeah, that was that was a horrific night, as you can imagine.
01:00While promoting his film Emancipation, Smith explained that he was dealing with personal
01:04struggles that boiled over, causing him to lose it, though not an excuse.
01:09He shared that he has since forgiven himself for being human and expressed hope that the
01:13cast and crew of Emancipation wouldn't suffer for his actions.
01:18At the end of the day, I just I lost it, you know, and.
01:24I guess what I would say.
01:28You just never know what somebody is going through.
01:31Paula Deen.
01:32Yeah, Jim, this this story has exploded online and it all has to do with a transcript of
01:37a videotaped deposition of Southern celebrity chef Paula Deen.
01:41In 2013, celebrity Southern chef Paula Deen watched her cooking empire crumble after a
01:47lawsuit deposition surfaced in the press.
01:50The document revealed that Deen admitted to using racial slurs in the past.
01:54Now, according to the deposition, Deen was asked, have you ever used the N word yourself?
01:58To which she replies, yes, of course.
02:00Initially, she canceled a scheduled interview on The Today Show, but later appeared to address
02:05the controversy on the program.
02:07Deen claimed she had only used the slur once when she was held at gunpoint during a bank
02:13robbery.
02:14However, this conflicted with the deposition, which stated that she had used it several
02:18times.
02:19She then went on a teary tirade, blaming others and lamenting the loss of her business partnerships.
02:25The public reaction to this interview was mixed, but it didn't stop her from bleeding
02:29more partnerships and endorsements.
02:32And I have apologized.
02:34I would never, never.
02:37And I can truthfully say in my life, I have never with any intention hurt anybody on purpose.
02:45And I never would.
02:48Ellen DeGeneres
02:49If you're watching because you love me, thank you.
02:51If you're watching because you don't love me, welcome.
02:53Ellen DeGeneres built her career on being the queen of kindness.
02:57So many were surprised to learn there wasn't a lot of kindness going around behind the
03:02scenes of her talk show.
03:03Following allegations she fostered a toxic work environment, rife with harassment, intimidation
03:09and racism, DeGeneres addressed her viewers during the season 18 premiere of her show.
03:14How was everybody's summer?
03:15Good?
03:17Mine was great.
03:20Super terrific.
03:21In her monologue, DeGeneres took responsibility for the alleged toxic culture and vowed to
03:26implement changes.
03:27She also defended her character, insisting she remained the same off camera, even as
03:32she acknowledged her flaws.
03:34Despite the apology and promises of reform, the show ended just one season later.
03:39And in 2024, DeGeneres stepped away from the entertainment world for good.
03:45I know that I'm in a position of privilege and power and I realize that with that comes
03:49responsibility and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.
03:54Hi Michael, welcome to the show.
03:56Hello, hi.
03:57How you doing?
03:58I'm not doing too good.
04:01In November 2006, comedian Michael Richards made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
04:07During a set at the Laugh Factory, Richards unleashed a torrent of racial slurs after
04:13being heckled by some black and Hispanic audience members.
04:16A few days later, his friend Jerry Seinfeld arranged for him to apologize via satellite
04:22on The Late Show with David Letterman.
04:24He said some pretty nasty things to some Afro-Americans.
04:29A lot of trash talk.
04:33Stop laughing, it's not funny.
04:35Richards insisted that he was not racist, explaining that he simply lost his cool and
04:40tried to outdo the hecklers with outrageous behavior, which disastrously backfired.
04:46The apology came off quite differently for the studio audience, as they took it for a
04:51comedic bit and began laughing.
04:53This left Richards visibly uncomfortable and questioning why he agreed to the appearance
04:58at all.
04:59I know, I mean, hearing your audience laugh, you know, and it's, I'm not even sure that
05:03this is where I should be addressing the situation.
05:12What's the cure?
05:13Medicine?
05:14Make me like them?
05:15Not gonna happen.
05:16I'm by winning.
05:18I win here and I win there.
05:20Now what?
05:21Once the highest paid actor on television, Charlie Sheen hit rock bottom after a very
05:25public meltdown in 2011.
05:28At the same time, Sheen was dealing with several personal issues, including substance
05:33use disorder and domestic violence charges.
05:36After two and a half men went on hiatus for him to attend rehab, Sheen publicly insulted
05:41creator Chuck Lorre, which ultimately led to him being fired.
05:45The studio fired the actor on Monday, and now Sheen says he's ready to launch a big
05:49time lawsuit.
05:50Just days before his contract was terminated, Sheen appeared on Good Morning America, where
05:55he rejected claims that he was bipolar, instead declaring himself by winning.
06:00He dodged questions about drug use, insisting that he had completely cured himself.
06:05Sheen's behavior during this interview was seen as erratic, and only further fueled public
06:10belief that he had completely lost control.
06:13I think some of those things that you're putting out there are making people think
06:18something's wrong with you.
06:19Lance Armstrong.
06:21Back to the stunning interview with Lance Armstrong, coming clean to Oprah about doping
06:26to win.
06:27But did he really tell the truth?
06:29The whole truth.
06:30For much of his cycling career, Lance Armstrong was relentlessly hounded by doping allegations.
06:36These accusations followed him, even as he won seven consecutive Tour de France titles.
06:42But Armstrong vehemently denied them.
06:44Then in 2012, following an investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Armstrong
06:50was stripped of his titles and banned for life from professional cycling.
06:54Some breaking news now on Lance Armstrong.
06:57The global governing body of cycling has just announced moments ago it will ban Armstrong
07:02for life and strip him of his seven Tour titles.
07:06A few months later, Armstrong sat down with Oprah Winfrey and finally admitted to doping
07:11during all seven of his Tour de France wins.
07:14However, he sought to downplay the severity of the claims against him, insisting he never
07:19pressured his teammates to dope.
07:21His confession did little to repair his reputation, but it did confirm what many had long suspected.
07:39Tiger Woods
07:40I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to.
07:44I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations
07:51around me.
07:52I felt I was entitled.
07:54In late 2009, Tiger Woods found himself in hot water after reports of his extramarital
08:00affairs surfaced.
08:01Within days, over a dozen women claimed to have been involved with him, which led his
08:06wife, Aline Nordegren, to file for divorce.
08:10Woods lost several endorsements and partnerships and took a temporary break from professional
08:14golf.
08:15In March 2010, he publicly addressed the scandal in an interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi,
08:20during which he admitted to living a life of deception.
08:24If it's a private matter, why issue a public apology?
08:28I owe a lot of people an apology.
08:30I hurt a lot of people, not just my wife, my friends, my colleagues, the public, kids
08:37who looked up to me.
08:38Woods expressed regret over the hurt he caused to Nordegren and his mother and announced
08:43his return to golf at the 2010 Masters.
08:46Although experts dismissed the interview as too little too late, Woods defied expectations
08:51and made a resounding comeback years later.
08:54I miss competing, but still, I still have a lot more treatment to do.
08:59And just because I'm playing doesn't mean I'm going to stop going to treatment.
09:03Why are you sitting down with us today?
09:06I'm very tired of all of the lies.
09:09Sexual assault allegations against R. Kelly have floated around since the late 1990s.
09:14But the 2019 docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly, brought them into sharp focus.
09:20Shortly after its release, Kelly was criminally charged, which led to a contentious interview
09:25with Gayle King.
09:26Over the course of 80 tense minutes, Kelly vehemently denied the allegations, portraying
09:32himself as the victim of a grand conspiracy.
09:42At one point, he leapt to his feet, crying and yelling that he was fighting for his life
09:47against his perceived enemies.
09:49It was a fight he would eventually lose.
09:51Because despite Kelly's repeated denials, the evidence against him only grew.
09:56In 2021, he was convicted of multiple charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking
10:02and is currently serving a 31-year sentence.
10:05So they're lying on you.
10:06That's your explanation.
10:07They're lying on you.
10:08Absolutely.
10:11She was very specific about that night.
10:13She described dancing with you and you profusely sweating.
10:18Prince Andrew's association with Jeffrey Epstein had long raised eyebrows, however,
10:25interrupted into a scandal when one of Epstein's alleged victims, Virginia Gouffray, accused
10:30him of sexually assaulting her.
10:32In 2019, Andrew went on BBC's Newsnight to clear the air.
10:36He awkwardly dismissed Gouffray's claims, claiming he had no recollection of meeting
10:41her and had been home with his daughters on the day of the alleged assault.
10:45Do you remember dancing at Tramp?
10:48No.
10:49That couldn't have happened because the date that was being suggested, I was at home with
10:55the children.
10:56He also attempted to discredit accusations that they were dancing together by claiming
11:00he was unable to sweat.
11:02Instead of mitigating the scandal, the interview doused fuel on the fire.
11:06Andrew's dismissive tone, lack of empathy and unconvincing excuses were criticized,
11:12ultimately leading to his removal from public duties and the loss of his military titles.
11:17But you were staying at the house of a convicted sex offender?
11:22It was a convenient place to stay.
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11:40Hugh Grant
11:41Let me start with question number one.
11:44What the hell were you thinking?
11:49Back in 1995, this British actor's Hollywood ascent hit a speed bump when he was arrested
11:54for solicitation.
11:55This came just two weeks before the premiere of his first American star vehicle, Nine Months.
12:01Grant's PR machine kicked into gear and he immediately set about laundering his image,
12:06including on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
12:09The interview began with one simple question from Leno that Grant smoothly answered with
12:14disarming honesty.
12:15I think you know in life pretty much what's a good thing to do and what's a bad thing
12:20and I did a bad thing and there you have it.
12:24Instead of making excuses, Grant confronted the issue head on and took full responsibility,
12:29which helped soften the public backlash.
12:32The interview proved beneficial for both Grant and Leno.
12:35Nine Months became a box office success and The Tonight Show topped the Late Show with
12:39David Letterman in ratings for the first time.
12:42I'm sure if I'd been a, you know, if I hadn't been the person that, you know, perpetrated
12:48this whole thing then I suppose I would be, you know, enjoying it as much as anyone else
12:51but it's pretty miserable on the other side of the equation.
12:54Did you watch any of these televised mea culpa's live?
12:58Which of them was the least convincing to you?
13:01Let us know in the comments below.
13:03What has the journey been like since that day?
13:07Did you enjoy this video?
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