Earlier this week, 30-year-old Oscar nominee Jonah Hill was caught on camera lashing out at paparazzi who had been following him with a homophobic insult. The incident came as quite a shock, as it came from a star who has publicly supported the LBGQT community for his entire career.
Last night, Jonah Hill used his interview with Jimmy Fallon as an opportunity to apologise publicly for the slur which he, in hindsight, referred to as “grotesque”.
Far from his usual jokey manner, Jonah is visibly upset throughout the apology and offers none of the usual half-apology, almost-excuse we’re used to hearing from celebs.
“I was genuinely hurt by this and made angry by this and in response I wanted to hurt him back and I said the most hurtful word that I could think of at that moment.
“I didn’t mean this in the sense of the word, I didn’t mean it in a homophobic way.” He continued “I think that that doesn’t matter, how you mean things doesn’t matter — words have weight and meaning.”
As the apology went on, Jonah only became more eloquent saying, “I’m sorry. I don’t deserve or expect your forgiveness but what I ask is that at home if you’re watching this, and you’re a young person especially, if someone says something that hurts you or angers you use me as an example of what not to do.
“Don’t respond with hatred or anger because you’re just adding more ugliness to the world.”
While hearing another celeb caught on camera being incredibly irresponsible and hurtful is far from ideal, it’s refreshing to see someone stand up, admit they’re wrong, and not ask us to forgive and forget, but ask us to remember and learn. Watch the clip below.
