Some completely missed the mark
At the time, he stated that he was ready to be held accountable for the negative consequences of his role. In April of 2021, Azaria offered a heartfelt apology to the entire Indian community for his contribution to structural racism in the US.
Since Christian Bale and Ben Affleck took over, it's easy to forget that George Clooney once played Batman too. He starred in the 1997 movie 'Batman & Robin,' and it was so bad that he was terrified he had brought an end to the epic franchise.
Anne Hathaway starred as the Grand High Witch in the 2020 remake of 'The Witches.' The movie shows how witches disguise themselves to blend in with society, but reveal their physical differences when they're alone together.
In a 2020 interview, Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that her least favorite performance was in 2001's 'Shallow Hal.' The movie has been accused of being incredibly fatphobic and altogether offensive.
Shirley's family said they were upset by the movie's portrayal of the musician as isolated from his family and from the Black community. It was felt that the movie misrepresented Shirley's life and even created a white savior narrative between him and his driver, who in reality was simply his employee. Ali contacted the family to apologize for the errors and for failing to consult with them.
Paltrow plays a morbidly obese woman, which required a truly awful fat suit, who magically appears to be "beautiful" and slender to the male lead. Paltrow later stated that the movie was a disaster and she would not have played that role now.
As with the original movie, the witch characters had three claw-like fingers to make them appear more sinister. Hathaway later apologized after realizing that people, especially children, with limb differences were pained by this element of the costume design.
Shortly before the film's release, 14 FIFA officials were arrested on charges of corruption. Roth plays the ex-president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, who had to step down after the scandal. In the movie, he's portrayed as a virtuous and ethical leader. Roth expressed serious remorse for not questioning the intentions of the film.
Jenny Slate voiced the biracial character Missy in the hit Netflix series 'Big Mouth' for the first few seasons. She said she had justified it to herself because Missy's mother was white and Jewish like she was, but she had ignored that fact that Missy was also Black and should be played by a Black actress. She stepped down from the show in 2020.
Alison Brie famously voiced the Vietnamese-American character Diane Nguyen in the Netflix animated series 'BoJack Horseman.' She wrote on Instagram that she regretted playing the character, as it was a missed opportunity to represent the Vietnamese community in the US.
Paul Newman was one of the big Hollywood stars of the mid-20th century. His first role was in the 1954 historical epic 'The Silver Chalice.' The movie was panned by critics for being boring, vulgar, and poorly made. Newman himself said it was the worst movie of the 1950s.
Rebecca Hall starred in Allen's movie 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' (2008) and was halfway through production on his 2017 film 'A Rainy Day in New York' when Farrow issued a statement. Once filming had ended, Hall said she was "profoundly sorry" and pledged to donate her salary from the movie to the Time's Up legal defense fund.
In an interview with The Telegraph, she said, "I really hate, hate, hate that I am on that side of the whitewashing conversation."
Saldana wore a prosthetic nose and makeup to darken her skin tone for the role. She later apologized, saying she should have done everything in her power to ensure that role went to another actress.
Sarah Paulson received backlash for wearing 4.5 lbs of padding to play Linda Tripp, the real-life whistleblower in the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal, in the FX series 'Impeachment: American Crime Story.' Critics said it was another example of Hollywood refusing to offer more opportunities to plus-size actors.
Paulson, who also gained 30 lbs for the role, spoke to the Los Angeles Times and said, "There's a lot of controversy around actors and fat suits, and I think that controversy is a legitimate one. I think fat phobia is real. I think to pretend otherwise causes further harm. And it is a very important conversation to be had. But that entire responsibility, I don't think, falls on the actor for choosing to do something that is arguably—and I'm talking about from the inside out—the challenge of a lifetime."
A decade later, Newman had become one of the most successful actors in cinema. When he heard that the awful movie was going to be aired on TV, he paid US$1,200 for ad space in several popular newspapers where he printed an apology! But it totally backfired and the movie got far more views than it would have otherwise.
Sources: (Looper) (BuzzFeed) (Daily News) (The Guardian)
See also: The 30 most quotable movies of all time
Rooney Mara was cast in the 2015 remake of 'Peter Pan,' called 'Pan.' She played the role of Tiger Lily, a character who is Native American. The white actress apologized profusely for the insensitivity a year later.
Kristen Bell also voiced a non-white character in an animated series. She played the biracial character Molly in the series 'Central Park.' Bell stepped down from the show and apologized for her lack of awareness.
Halle Berry is another cisgender actress who caught fire when she announced she was considering accepting a role as a trans man. She said she was interested to dive into that world and gain a greater understanding, but fans were quick to point out the problem with her taking such a role. She listened to the feedback and apologized, saying she understood that the trans community should have the opportunity to portray their own stories.
In recent years, viewers have become more and more aware of the whitewashing that goes on in Hollywood. White actors are cast to play non-white characters, straight actors are cast in gay roles, and cisgender actors often get to portray the few trans characters we see on our screens. Awareness and unease have been rising for a long time, but the outrage has reached a fever pitch as of late. Many actors are now looking back at their careers and seeing how their choices took opportunities away from those whose voices have long been silenced, and took representation away from those who desperately need it.
It's hard to turn a blind eye anymore, and actor apologies are at an all-time high as we grow as a society. Some actors are even apologizing simply because their movies sucked! Click through this gallery to see which roles led actors to make public apologies.
Actors who apologized for roles they played
Problematic casting no longer flies under the radar
MOVIES Apologies
In recent years, viewers have become more and more aware of the whitewashing that goes on in Hollywood. White actors are cast to play non-white characters, straight actors are cast in gay roles, and cisgender actors often get to portray the few trans characters we see on our screens. Awareness and unease have been rising for a long time, but the outrage has reached a fever pitch as of late. Many actors are now looking back at their careers and seeing how their choices took opportunities away from those whose voices have long been silenced, and took representation away from those who desperately need it.
It's hard to turn a blind eye anymore, and actor apologies are at an all-time high as we grow as a society. Some actors are even apologizing simply because their movies sucked! Click through this gallery to see which roles led actors to make public apologies.