The art of saying sorry, the celebrity way

Sorry is the hardest word and how you say it matters the most. Flipkart's recent apology was direct but there are a few other ways of publicly expressing regret.

The "It's all about you" apology Flipkart adopted this tack in response to various technical and service-led glitches during their ‘Big Billion Day' sale. Sachin and Binny Bansal's letter to fuming customers was direct and contrite: "We did not live up to the promises we made and for that we are really and truly sorry."



Apologies from big businesses always make it about the customer. Another case in point: Toyota president Akio Toyoda's profuse sorry in 2009 to those who had suffered after buying faulty vehicles. "Customers bought our cars because they thought they were the safest. But now we have given them cause for grave concern. I can't begin to express my remorse," he said.

The "I am not really sorry" apology Exhibit A: Disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong. After years of denying accusations that he used performance-enhancing drugs, in 2013, he was fi nally forced to acknowledge his guilt when the International Cycling Union stripped him of his 7 Tour De France titles.

Dismissive of all charges up until then, Armstrong appeared on Oprah Winfrey's TV show and uttered the word "sorry" but once again refused to accept that it was sports' biggest doping programme. Also in the dock in this category, Chris Brown. Despite having verbally apologised several times for physically assaulting Rihanna in 2009, the remorse hardly showed in his subsequent behaviour.




The "I'm too cool" apology In a 2010 interview John Mayer compared sex with Jessica Simpson (inset) to napalm and used a racial slur for African Americans. After a backlash, he said, "It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualise using it [the n-word], because I realise that there's no intellectualising a word that is so emotionally charged." Even as he said sorry, he reminded everyone he was too clever for them.



The "I wasn't trying to hurt anybody" apology Bill Clinton dealt with this in 1998 when he had to confront the Monica Lewinsky issue head on. After apologising, Clinton rationalised it, saying, "I was very concerned about protecting my family." Yet another example: Alec Baldwin, who directed a homophobic rant against a paparazzo in 2013. He justifi ed it as a defence of his family.



The "I'm so, so, sooo sorry" apology In 2012, after cheating on boyfriend Robert Pattinson (inset), Kirsten Stewart put out a surprisingly frank admission of guilt. "This momentary indiscretion has jeopardised the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob," she said. Talk show host David Letterman also candidly apologised for his sexual infi delities in 2009.