WHO'S SORRY NOW? THE AGE OF APOLOGIES
By Jerome Cleary
Let’s start right now and make September 2005 the official month of apologies. We had President Bush accept responsibility and apologize for his slow failed response to the Katrina Hurricane. Then both the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana apologized next.
Then Kate Moss, the super-thin model apologized for her cocaine use, and finally Jet Blue apologized for the malfunction of landing gear of a recent TV media frenzied flight. So I want to apologize right now for the rest of this column if you don’t like it.
Apologizing in our society always had a certain display of human emotion that said: I am human, I made a mistake, and I am sorry. But with certain public figures, apologies work well — and well sometimes not.
Even though Kate Moss has apologized, several well-known companies cancelled their contractual relationships with her. Remember back in 1984, when the first African American Miss America, Vanessa Williams, had nude photographs released from a model shoot? She apologized, and the Miss America Pageant Corporation immediately de-throned and replaced her.
Though looking back now at what happened, Vanessa Williams is the most famous crowned Miss America ever. Which, if the Miss America Pageant had been smarter back then, they could have accepted her apology and said: She apologized. We accept her apology. She made a mistake in her youth, and we still support her.
If this had happened to Vanessa Williams right now in 2005, she would be on every TV show, radio show and newspaper — and probably have an even more super successful career today.
But how does corporate America really work? Today, Paris Hilton can have a private video of herself having sex released on the internet and become a big media darling whose fame and success keeps growing. She has a TV series, movie roles, a fashion-wear line and a handbag business — and let’s not forget her titillating, car-washing TV commercial for Carl’s Jr.
Who cannot forget Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s private home videos that were accidentally released too? Today they both have TV shows, and their popularity continues to grow. In addition to these recent new video stars, remember the Rob Lowe sex video of the early nineties? Today Mr. Lowe has been cast in TV series after TV series. Lastly, several years ago, we all saw the infamous costume malfunction of Janet Jackson in the Super Bowl halftime show that coincidentally happened to come on the eve of the release of her new album. She looked really contrite and apologetic in all her subsequent television interviews.
It used to be that your mother would tell you to always wear clean underwear in case you were in an accident. But today, our actors take this advice a step further with a couple of twists. Your accident today has to be video-taped, and you must have your underwear off. But it must be later referred to as your private sex video. That somehow accidentally gets in the wrong hands.
Fortunately, the wrong hands just happen to know how to get it loaded on the internet correctly and get it blasted out to every one and their mother. These victims then spend months acting outraged at the horrible violation and humiliation. But with it, these celeb victims have their career launched in to the stratosphere.
Who’s really sorry now?
Jerome Cleary is an actor, writer and comic at The World Famous Comedy Store-www.freecomedytickets.com-and can be contacted at: jeromeclearytalk@aol.com
Let’s start right now and make September 2005 the official month of apologies. We had President Bush accept responsibility and apologize for his slow failed response to the Katrina Hurricane. Then both the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana apologized next.
Then Kate Moss, the super-thin model apologized for her cocaine use, and finally Jet Blue apologized for the malfunction of landing gear of a recent TV media frenzied flight. So I want to apologize right now for the rest of this column if you don’t like it.
Apologizing in our society always had a certain display of human emotion that said: I am human, I made a mistake, and I am sorry. But with certain public figures, apologies work well — and well sometimes not.
Even though Kate Moss has apologized, several well-known companies cancelled their contractual relationships with her. Remember back in 1984, when the first African American Miss America, Vanessa Williams, had nude photographs released from a model shoot? She apologized, and the Miss America Pageant Corporation immediately de-throned and replaced her.
Though looking back now at what happened, Vanessa Williams is the most famous crowned Miss America ever. Which, if the Miss America Pageant had been smarter back then, they could have accepted her apology and said: She apologized. We accept her apology. She made a mistake in her youth, and we still support her.
If this had happened to Vanessa Williams right now in 2005, she would be on every TV show, radio show and newspaper — and probably have an even more super successful career today.
But how does corporate America really work? Today, Paris Hilton can have a private video of herself having sex released on the internet and become a big media darling whose fame and success keeps growing. She has a TV series, movie roles, a fashion-wear line and a handbag business — and let’s not forget her titillating, car-washing TV commercial for Carl’s Jr.
Who cannot forget Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s private home videos that were accidentally released too? Today they both have TV shows, and their popularity continues to grow. In addition to these recent new video stars, remember the Rob Lowe sex video of the early nineties? Today Mr. Lowe has been cast in TV series after TV series. Lastly, several years ago, we all saw the infamous costume malfunction of Janet Jackson in the Super Bowl halftime show that coincidentally happened to come on the eve of the release of her new album. She looked really contrite and apologetic in all her subsequent television interviews.
It used to be that your mother would tell you to always wear clean underwear in case you were in an accident. But today, our actors take this advice a step further with a couple of twists. Your accident today has to be video-taped, and you must have your underwear off. But it must be later referred to as your private sex video. That somehow accidentally gets in the wrong hands.
Fortunately, the wrong hands just happen to know how to get it loaded on the internet correctly and get it blasted out to every one and their mother. These victims then spend months acting outraged at the horrible violation and humiliation. But with it, these celeb victims have their career launched in to the stratosphere.
Who’s really sorry now?
Jerome Cleary is an actor, writer and comic at The World Famous Comedy Store-www.freecomedytickets.com-and can be contacted at: jeromeclearytalk@aol.com
posted by JeromeCleary @ 7:43 PM
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