Joseph Tanner Gage, MA
Southern Utah University
Suggested Citation:
Gage, J. T. (2023). Racism image repair: an in-depth analysis of celebrity image repair efforts following racist comments and gestures. Utah Journal of Communication, 1(2), 59-66. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10055926
Abstract
When well-known celebrities are accused of exhibiting some form of racism towards a particular person or group, many are prompted to apologize as quickly as possible in order to repair their image and fight to keep their career afloat. The channels used by celebrities can vary with some using social media, news outlets, and their own shows to deliver an apology. Racism apologies have become more mainstream due to social movements like Black Lives Matter and hate crimes against the Asian community, placing systematic racism at the forefront of social issues. The aim of this study is not to measure the authenticity or effectiveness of the apologies, but to analyze the discourse used by celebrities constructing an image repair after making racist remarks. This study examines 24 racism apologies given by celebrities and provides: (a) Commonly utilized strategies in racism image repair and (b) patterns used in a racism image repair effort.
Keywords: Image repair, Racism, Apologia, Pop culture
In recent years, the Asian, Hispanic, and Black communities have fallen victim to racial profiling by celebrities and TV personalities with many incidences involving politicians, talk show hosts, and sports broadcasters. The term “race” is as sensitive a topic as ever and has become a talking point of politicians (Williams & Duckett, 2020), athletes (MacIntosh & Martin, 2018), and TV personalities (Kroon, 2019) as they use their platform as celebrities to share their opinions with viewers deliberately or, in some cases, inadvertently. Most recently, Jack Morris, a former Major League pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and current analyst for the team, attempted to use a Japanese accent while describing what to do while pitching to Los Angeles Angels’ megastar Shohei Ohtani. Morris issued an apology during the ninth inning of the broadcast but was immediately suspended following the game. The increase of racist comments and gestures by celebrities has created opportunities to evaluate image repair efforts following racist comments or gestures.
Literature Review
While considering Benoit’s contextual framework on image repair, past studies on systematic racism, racist remarks by celebrities, and racial stereotypes as a potential factor of a successful image repair are also noted.
Image Repair Theory
Image repair theory, was coined by Benoit (1995) and is an expansion of Ware and Linkugel’s (1973) literature on apologia which discussed different strategies still relevant to the image repair theory (i.e., bolstering, differentiation, etc.). For an image repair strategy to occur, there must be an attack in which the “accused is held responsible for the action” or “the act is considered offensive” (Benoit, 1997b, p. 178). Benoit also explains that the attack, even if it is not considered offensive; however, is believed to be offensive by relevant audiences prompts an image repair.
There have been various studies by Benoit and other scholars applying the image repair theory examining the apologies and crisis management done by high-profile figures and organizations. Benoit (1997a) suggested that reputation is a key component to all realms. He continues by saying, “…discourse can be a remedy for threats to image; and although which strategies are used most often, or which are most appropriate, may vary, the same options are open to all rhetors” (pg. 255). Benoit’s comprehensive framework of image repair tactics has been used by scholars to explore image repair strategies employed by high-profile celebrities holding various job titles (Stein, Barton, & Pierson, 2021).
Racism has not been a primary focus of image repair; however, it has slowly gained notoriety over the past 15 years. Not only have these issues been more prevalent, but the risk also that is involved with racial issues are magnified compared to other wrongdoings. Williams and Olaniran (2002) state, “Racial issues are especially prone to high profile media coverage, large financial loss, and distrust or alienation from critical stakeholders” (p. 296).
Research Questions
Despite the lack of previous research focused on racism image repair, the reviewed literature emphasized previous image repair efforts following racist remarks by celebrities and a background the psychology of color-blind, systematic, and stereotypical forms of racism. Benoit’s image repair theory will be the utilized to identify strategies used by celebrities following racist comments provided on-air or through social media. The following research questions are posed to guide the study:
RQ1: Which image repair strategies were used most frequently by celebrities?
RQ2: What patterns are used in a racism image repair?
Method
Sample
This study was executed by way of a thorough content analysis of racism apologies given by 24 public figures. The public figures hold various job titles from athletes, coaches, celebrities, and broadcasting personalities. The apologies were taken from the social media channels where the apologies were given. For celebrities who gave their apology on live television, their apology was examined via YouTube. Other celebrities did not deliver an apology on live television, but instead took to social media to provide their apology. Those celebrity apologies were taken from their social media pages if the post was not deleted. Many of the apologies were deleted from social media due to profane language used toward the celebrity following the apology or racist comments. If this was the case for that particular celebrity, their apology was taken from news sources that published a quote of the apology for public viewing. After the apologies were collected, quotes from those apologies were placed into their appropriate categories based on Benoit’s image repair theory.
Criteria
In order to find trends and patterns in the way the celebrities conduct image repairs after saying or posting racist comments or making inappropriate racist gestures, it is important to define what qualifies a comment as racist in the context of the study. The following criteria below are provided to assist in providing an accurate content analysis:
- Any comment or gesture that is considered a stereotype of that race.
- An attempt to divide two races in an attempt to make one race more favorable (discrimination).
- Comments pertaining to a race’s particular characteristics (i.e., eye shape, skin color, intellect, etc.)
- The comments must have received negative publicity in some form (i.e., newspaper, online articles, social media, etc.)
All of the criteria mentioned above do not have to be met to qualify a comment as racist; however, the racist comments do need to meet at least one of the conditions. In most instances, the person accused of exhibiting racism will have been suspended, on probation, or released from their position for their actions. This was also considered in order to analyze how much weight their apology held and if there are differences in image repair trends when their career is dependent on it.
Limitations
This study has several limitations. First, many of the racist comments made on Twitter and apologies delivered to the public have been deleted and are no longer accessible to the public for viewing. Second, the sample size of apologies by celebrities was a bit small compared to the potential of future studies. Finally, the discourse was taken from celebrities and did not analyze the responses to their apologies via social media channels.
Analysis
In the analysis of apologies following a racist comment the following categories were most utilized by the accused celebrities: Mortification, bolstering, simple denial, corrective action, accident, and minimization.
Mortification
One of the first actions taken by celebrities was expressing mortification, perhaps due to the swiftness of news outlets and social media followers to accuse them of wrongdoing. Celebrities utilized two common approaches implementing mortification that are separated into the subcategories of “offensiveness” and “forgiveness”.
Offensiveness
When issuing an apology to the public or their publicist, most celebrities led with “I’m sorry” followed by the words “offense” or “offensive” to describe their actions or choice of words. Some examples of these patterns include Jack Morris’s apology to Shohei Ohtani and viewers after he used an Asian accent on live TV. Morris (2021) used this approach on two separate occasions. Once in the ninth inning of the game when the racist comment was made where he said:
“It’s been brought to my attention tonight and I sincerely apologize if I offended anybody, especially anybody in the Asian community for what I said about pitching and being careful to Shohei Ohtani. I did not intend for any offensive thing and I apologize if I did” (as cited on WXYZ-TV Detroit, 2021).
His second apology was issued to The Detroit Free Press:
“I am very sorry that my comment offended so many people, especially the Asian community. I never intended for it to be hurtful or offensive to anyone” (as cited by Petzold, 2021).
Yuli Gurriel took the same approach after he made the “Asian eye shape” toward Yu Darvish, a Japanese pitcher, after hitting a homerun against him. Gurriel (2017) apologized through interpreter Alex Cintron by saying, “I just feel, like I said, I just feel bad, I apologize and whoever got offended over there, it was not my intention” (as cited in KPRC 2 Click2Houston, 2018).
Forgiveness
While most celebrities began and ended with “I’m sorry”, some made efforts to seek forgiveness from those who were hurt by their remarks. Donald Sterling (2014) searched for forgiveness in his apology following his racist comment made to his mistress Maria Perez about former professional basketball player Magic Johnson by saying, “I’m here with you today to apologize and to ask for forgiveness for all the people that I’ve hurt” (as cited in CNN, 2014). Rosanne Barr did the same in her apology after she called former President Barack Obama’s senior advisor Valerie Jarrett a product of Planet of the Apes and the Muslim brotherhood in a late-night tweet. Barr (2018) issued this statement:
“I apologize from the bottom of my heart and hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me” (as cited by Kemp, 2018).
Paula Deen (2013) took her apology a step further and “begged” her audience for forgiveness by saying the following:
“I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way but I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners, I beg for your forgiveness. Please forgive me for the mistakes that I have made” (as cited on ABC News, 2013).
Simple Denial
While almost all of the celebrities apologized for the comments they made, they also denied being a racist. Denials by celebrities were commonly used after saying “I’m sorry” or “I apologize”. This category was divided into two categories: “I’m not racist” and “I’m not that person”.
“I’m not a racist”
Jon Gruden, a former NFL head coach, took this approach in his apology after emails sent by him in 2011 resurfaced where he mentions the size of NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith’s lips. In his apology Gruden (2021) said:
“I can’t remember a lot of the things that transpired 10 or 12 years ago, but I stand here in front of everybody apologizing. I don’t have an ounce of racism in me” (as cited on NFL.com, 2021).
Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather took to Twitter to go on a rant filled with racist and homophobic statements aimed at fellow boxer Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather (2010) quickly apologized and denied being a racist by releasing this statement:
“I want to apologize to everybody because everybody felt it was a racist comment that came from me. I don’t have a racist bone in my body, you know” (as cited by Rafael, 2010).
Comedian and Seinfeld star Michael Richards (2006) called Black audience members the “N-word” while performing a comedy show and issued an apology on The David Letterman Show by leading with: “I said some very nasty things to some Afro-Americans, a lot of trash talk. I’m really busted up over this and I am very, very sorry to those people in the audience” (as cited by Quaz101, 2006).
Kelly Osbourne, a former host on Fashion Police, caused a stir in an attempt to attack former President Donald Trump by implying if Latinos are kicked out of America Trump will have no one to clean his toilets. Osbourne (2015) responded by saying:
“I want to start by saying I ALWAYS take responsibility for my actions. In this particular case I will take responsibility for my poor choice of words but I will not apologize for being a racist as I am NOT” (as cited by Deutsch, 2015).
Chelsea Handler did the same after posting offensive words on Twitter about the film 12 Years A Slave and implying that Angelina Jolie filed adoption papers for Kenyan supporting actress winner Lupita Nyong’o. Handler (2014) issued the following statement:
“I’m not racist. I date a lot of black people so that would be a difficult thing to explain to them” (as cited by White, 2014).
Many celebrities opted to claim that they were not racist but still offered an apology to the person that was hurt.
“That’s not me”
Donald Sterling used a “that’s not me” tactic in his apology by saying, “I mean, that’s not the way I talk. I don’t talk about people for one thing, ever,” (CNN, 2021). Other celebrities focused on protecting their personal values and beliefs. Liam Neeson’s apology following comments about revenge towards Blacks, denies his hurtful words reflecting his values. Neeson (2019) said:
“I recognize that, although the comments I made do not reflect, in any way, my true feelings nor me, they were hurtful and divisive” (as cited on The Guardian, 2019).
Former wresting star Hulk Hogan (2015) protected his beliefs and his character by stating the following:
“I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs. It is not who I am” (as cited by Massey, 2015)
Bolstering
A common theme that developed in apologies was that celebrities would bolster qualities of the group or people that they were apologizing to. This happened specifically when the racial slur was used against athletes. Tim Ryan, a radio host for the San Francisco 49ers, made an apology after he commented on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s skin color being similar to that of an NFL football making it hard for the defense to see when he carries that ball. Ryan (2019) issued the following statement through the 49ers:
“I regret my choice of words in trying to describe the conditions of the game. Lamar Jackson is an MVP-caliber player and I respect him greatly. I want to sincerely apologize to him and anyone else I offended,” (as cited by Fieldstadt, 2019).
Stephen A. Smith took the exact same approach after he said Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani could never be the face of baseball since he always speaks to the public through a translator. Smith (2021) then made the following statement about Ohtani:
“Ohtani is one of the brightest stars in all of sports. He is making a difference as it pertains to inclusiveness and leadership.”
Jack Morris did the same in his apology given to the Detroit Free Press about Ohtani:
“I have the utmost respect for Shohei Ohtani and what he is doing for the game of baseball. He is a class act and one of the best players in today’s game. It’s exciting to watch him perform, and I’m one of his biggest fans.” (as cited by Petzold, 2021).
Michael Richards attempted to bolster his reputation by mentioning what the career of a comedian entails and included what other comedians are doing to help the African American communities after Hurricane Katrina.
“There is a great deal of disturbance in this country and how blacks feel about what happened in Katrina. And you know many of the performers, many comics are out in Las Vegas and New Orleans trying to raise money for what happened there” (as cited by Quas101, 2006).
Richards’ attempt to bolster other comedians led to another apology followed by justification of his words by explaining his job as a comedian:
I’m a performer, I push the envelope, I work in a very uncontrolled manner on stage, I do a lot of free association, I’m spontaneous, I go into character, I don’t know. In view of the situation and the act going where it was going, I don’t know, the rage did go all over the place.
Corrective Action
Celebrities who employed the corrective action strategy often included themselves in a group of people and didn’t use the first person. Instead, they used plurals like “we” or “our” to build a sense of togetherness with the audience they were apologizing to. Giuliana Rancic appeared on her show to issue an apology to actress Zendaya after she commented that her hair looked like it smelled of “marijuana” because she had dreads. Rancic (2015) made the following apology:
“This really has been a learning experience for me,” “I’ve learned a lot today and this incident has taught me to be a lot more aware of cliches and stereotypes, how much damage they can do. And that I am responsible as we all are to not perpetuate them further” (as cited on E! Entertainment, 2015).
Stephen A. Smith (2021) took a similar approach and talked about coming together to fight against racist acts:
“I instantly go off, repeatedly, if you are a member of a community that feels disenfranchised in any way, that’s something that we need to battle, that we need to fend off to the best of our ability as a nation,” (as cited on ESPN, 2021).
Lastly, Jack Morris used this form of corrective action in his apology to Shohei Ohtani:
“We all can and should be more sensitive and thoughtful about how and what we say, and how it might be perceived by others” (as cited on WXYZ-TV Detroit, 2021)
Arizona Diamondbacks announcer and former manager Bob Brenly took steps to improve himself and mentioned it in his apology after he made a remark about New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman’s headwear calling it a “do-rag”. Brenly (2021) made his apology through the team and not in person:
“During last night’s game, I made a poor attempt at humor that was insensitive and wrong. I apologize to Marcus Stroman and reached out to share those thoughts. I have had several conversations with the D-backs and we agree that taking sensitivity training is an important step so I can continue to learn from my mistakes in order to be better in the future” (as cited by Piecoro, 2021).
Accident
Celebrities included phrases such as: “That was not my intent” or “I didn’t intend to…” in order to downplay the effect of their words that came off as racist. Stephen A. Smith (2021) used this strategy three times in the same apology:
“That was not my intent at all but I’m not going to get into all of that because I do understand that a lot of racists out there are quick to say that was not my intent” (as cited on ESPN, 2021).
Smith issued another statement toward the Asian community about his intentions:
“The second that I was informed about how hurt a group of people in this nation was or for what I said, that’s all that matters to me, all that matters to me because I don’t intend to hurt people like that that’s not who I am that’s not who I’ve ever been” (as cited on ESPN, 2021).
Hartley Sawyer apologized after he tweeted that Al Sharpton would “never stop complaining about him” if he made a racist tweet. Sawyer (2020) apologized on his Instagram account:
“My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable. I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply.”
Rancic also used this method but instead placed emphasis on the typical contents of her show Fashion Police. Rancic (2015) said the following about the show and her intention:
“Now, as you know Fashion Police is a show that pokes fun at celebrities in good spirit, but I do understand that something I said last night did cross the line. I just want everyone to know, I didn’t intend to hurt anyone, but I’ve learned it is not my intent that matters, it’s the result” (as cited on E! Entertainment, 2015).
Minimization
Floyd Mayweather and Shaquille O’Neal made minimization an important ingredient to their apology. Mayweather (2010) apologized by stating:
“Forgive me for saying what I said. I was just having fun. I didn’t really mean it. Nothing in a bad way. So, let’s stay on this roller-coaster ride and keep riding, baby. It’s all love” (as cited by Rafael, 2010).
O’Neal made a similar comment in his apology following his mocking of the Mandarin Chinese language when he was asked in an interview about then up-an-coming basketball star Yao Ming.
“I said it jokingly, so this guy was just trying to stir something up that’s not there. He’s just somebody who doesn’t have a sense of humor, like I do. I don’t have to have a response to [the charge of racism] because the people who know me know I’m not [racist]” (as cited by Zarate, 2003).
Handler (2014) also utilized minimization in her image repair by apologizing for “being herself”.
“People are mad at me all the time. If I was worried about that then I would be spending a lot of time online. I’d rather be a little bit more productive…I said at the end just, ‘I’m sorry just for being me.’ I wasn’t apologizing. That was before the backlash. We had all our writers over and we were all tweeting all night. So, some of them wrote some things, I wrote some other things. It’s not a serious thing” (as cited by White, 2014).
Discussion
Celebrities employed similar patterns in their apologies, usually going with mortification-bolstering-mortification as the typical order of strategies. This was easily noticed in apologies that were rather short. Mortification was the most commonly used strategy since celebrities would possibly face further backlash if no sign of mortification was shown. What was unique about racism apologia was that most celebrities started and ended with some form of mortification. For instance, the apology by Don Imus where he said, “I want to take a moment to apologize for an insensitive and ill-conceived remark we made the other morning referring to the Rutgers women’s basketball team. It was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, so, and we’re sorry.” This theme of using “apologize,” “forgiveness,” and “sorry,” was persistent in almost all of these apologies. Roseanne Barr’s apology is also consistent with this pattern:
I love all people and am very sorry. Today my words caused hundreds of hardworking people to lose their jobs. I also sincerely apologize to the audience that has embraced my work for decades. I apologize from the bottom of my heart and hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.
Another significant find is that celebrities tend to bolster the reputation of the person or group they exhibited racism towards in order to show “respect” and “love”. Both words were thrown around a lot in apologies, perhaps to take weight off the shoulders of the deliverer and place spotlight on someone else. This tactic was used as a way to also bolster their reputation without boasting about their track record or accolades. Some examples of this included: “Lamar Jackson is an MVP-caliber player and I respect him greatly,” and “I love you so much and you have been one of my best friends for the past year and a half and I would never do anything on purpose to hurt you. And I love our community.” This type of language is used because the racist remark that was made may have made the public feel like they hate or dislike the race that they were attacking. This was a common image repair strategy used potentially minimize the damage they caused to their reputation by trying to show the public that they are not racist without actually saying “I’m not racist”.
The final interesting discovery was that celebrities who denied being a racist often used minimization to defuse the situation. While this doesn’t seem like it is a favorable strategy to use in racism apologia, minimization was often followed up with justification usually describing their sense of humor or past experiences and relationships. For example, celebrities made statements such as: ” I date a lot of black people so that would be a difficult thing to explain to them,” which is a form of justification of why the celebrity should not be perceived as racist. By using language that associates them with that group, the accusations are minimized by the celebrity. Using sense of humor as a form of justification was also prevalent. The following statements like “I was just having fun. I didn’t really mean it,” and “I thought, ‘Oh, well this is funny,’ or something like that, but it’s not.”
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