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'I'm An A-Hole': Watch Gary Oldman Apologize On Jimmy Kimmel
After giving a startling offensive interview to Playboy, where he essentially endorsed using racial epithets as well as homophobic and misogynist terms and accused Jews of being hypocritical, Gary Oldman appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to make a televised apology. The actor said, "I’m a public figure. I should be an example and an inspiration, and I’m an A-hole. I’m 56. I should know better."
Oldman was scheduled to be on the talk show to promote his new film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Kimmel thanked the actor for sticking to the commitment.
Variety notes, "Oldman spoke haltingly at the start of his appearance, choosing his words carefully and sticking mostly to the script of the apology statement he issued late Tuesday to the Anti-Defamation League."
Oldman said,"I said some things that were poorly considered. Once I had seen it in print I could see that it was offensive … insensitive … pernicious … and ill informed. Words have meaning, they carry weight long after you’ve said them, and I don’t condone or excuse the words I used in any context. i just basically shouldn’t have used them in any context. I have deeply injured and wounded great many people."
He added that actors "are asked to be social and cultural commentators, and I am not. I landed both feet in a hornets' nest. It came over in a certain way, and for that I am deeply sorry."
Oldman issued a statement apologizing to the Anti-Defamation League and Simon Wiesenthal Center, but he hasn't apologized to other groups yet. A few weeks ago, Jonah Hill apologized on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon for calling a paparazzo a "faggot."
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