Tis the season to reflect on the events of the year 2009 and we thought it might be interesting to take stock in the extraordinary volume of scandals, apologies and regrets that were offered up by politicians, sports figures and entertainment celebrities. A fitting musical accompaniment for this year’s group of repentant celebs would be the stains of the old Connie Francis hit Who’s Sorry Now.
We’ve provided a walk down memory lane, by including links to each of the 2009 breaking stories with photos and video for your viewing pleasure.
POLITICAL APOLOGIES were offered up by U.S. Senator John Ensign of Nevada for his extra-marital affair, and Governor Mark Sanford for running away to Argentina to be with his soul-mate.
SPORTS APOLOGIES came from Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who apologized to China. Brock Lesnar apologized for bad behavior. ESPN color commentators had some missteps. Steve Phillips apologized for an affair with Brooke Hundley, and Bob Griese apologized to Juan Pablo Montoya for racist comments. Last, and certainly not least was Tiger Woods, who is still in extremely hot water over his extra-marital affairs and apologized for his mounting transgressions.
TELEVISION HOST APOLOGIES came from David Letterman on two fronts. His first was an apology to his wife over extra-marital affairs with office interns. The second apology went to Sarah Palin and her daughter for disparaging remarks he made about the teen. Joy Behar apologized on The View for remarks she made about Rachel Uchitel, one of Tiger Woods paramours. Jamie Foxx delivered an apologetic shout out to Miley Cyrus after trashing her during a radio broadcast.
Keep reading – we’ve just gotten started – lots more after the jump.
Martha Stewart apologized to Jessica Simpson for bashing the singer. Sharon Osbourne said she was sorry for making comments about Susan Boyle. Then we had Conan O’Brien apologizing to Playgirl poser Levi Johnston for attributing fake Facebook entries to the wannabe. We can’t forget Simon Cowell’s open letter, in which he admits he has made mistakes.
ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY APOLOGIES came from Hulk Hogan, who apologized to the Hells Angels. Kanye West was sorry indeed for interrupting Taylor Swift while she was accepting Best Female Video at the VMA’s. Teen singer Justin Bieber apologized to his fans at a Mall meet and greet that erupted into a near riot.
Mariah Carey apologized for her emotional performance at Michael Jackson‘s funeral. The most unique delivery was by Chris Brown, who sang his apology. One of the most bizarre admissions came from Ryan O’Neal, who admitted he hit on his own daughter during Farrah’s funeral. Mary Louise Parker has regretted doing nude scenes. Vanilla Ice apologized for Ice Ice Baby.
We have likely omitted other sorry celebrities. Do let us know who they are.