Justin Timberlake Apology: 14 Celebrities Who Have Been Forced to Publicly Apologize

Justin Timberlake recently was forced to publicly apologize to wife Jessica Biel after he was photographed holding hands with co-star Alisha Wainwright while filming Palmer in New Orleans. While this type of public comment is certainly a result of our modern “always connected” age, celebrities have been apologizing for their mistakes and lapses in judgment for years.

Timberlake is only the most recent and high-profile name to say he is sorry in the public eye. Several other names have made headlines by apologizing to fans for their bad behavior, apologizing to their significant others for traveling a wayward path and apologizing to their kids according to PEOPLE.

Below we’ve compiled some of the more memorable celebrity public apologies below. Scroll through and relive the controversies and fallout for famous names that managed to survive the low points.

Justin Timberlake

For Timberlake, his apology seems to be a soft ending to his story. There are still many questions in the public around what he may or may not have done. As it stands, he was photographed holding a hand, he apologized publicly and his wife Jessica Biel has reportedly accepted that apology. 

But given who the story is about, the hunger for gossip and the couple’s reported prenuptial infidelity penalty, people are still curious for details.

Kanye West

West is happily married to Kim Kardashian currently, with a gang of lovely children that are always in the media spotlight. But before he was with Kardashian, he was having a feud with ex Amber Rose and co-parent Wiz Khalifa according to PEOPLE. The Jesus Is King rapper made some comments on Twitter about Rose’s 2-year-old son that he deleted and tried to make up for repeatedly. West was clearly emotional over the comments, explaining on Steve Harvey’s radio show why he was deeply sorry. 

“There is no concept of anyone beating up on someone else’s child or that type of concept. So every day I feel more deeply, deeply, deeply apologetic about that concept, because I only want to put out positive, positive, positive concepts,” West told the host.

Calvin Harris

The former boyfriend of Taylor Swift broke up with the singer in 2016 but lashed out after news spread that she secretly wrote his hit song “This Is What You Came For,” blaming her for the news.

“[It’s] hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage,” Harris wrote. “I figure if you’re happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down.”

Harris quickly deleted the post and told British GQ that he made a mistake with the post and the “wrong instinct.” 

“It’s very difficult when something I consider so personal plays out very publicly,” Harris said. “The aftermath of the relationship was way more heavily publicized than the relationship itself. When we were together, we were very careful for it not to be a media circus. She respected my feelings in that sense. I’m not good at being a celebrity. But when it ended, all hell broke loose … Now I see that Twitter thing as a result of me succumbing to pressure. It took me a minute to realize that none of that matters.”

Jude Law

The Alfie actor apologized to fiancee Sienna Miller back in 2005 after it was revealed that he had an affair with his family’s nanny. The couple broke up in 2006 and had a second attempt a few years later, but it is the apology that stands out. 

“Following the reports in today’s papers,  I just want to say I am deeply ashamed and upset that I’ve hurt Sienna and the people most close to us,” Law wrote in a statement. “I want to publicly apologize to Sienna and our respective families for the pain that I have caused. There is no defense for my actions which I sincerely regret and I ask that you respect our privacy at this very difficult time.”

Offset

The relationship between Offset and Cardi B is healthy at the moment. The two share a child together and seemingly are on far better terms than one year ago. 

Offset was hit with allegations of cheating and the couple split back in December 2018, leading the Migos member crashing his estranged love’s show at the Rolling Loud festival to apologize with flowers that spelled out “Take Me Back Cardi.”

The apology didn’t go over well at the time but Offset made his feelings known and that seemed to work. 

“All of my wrongs have been made public, I figure it’s only right that my apologies are made public too,” he wrote on Twitter alongside an Instagram video with a longer apology to his wife. 

Kristen Stewart

Way back in 2012, Twilight stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were still feeling the effects of being box office superstars and dating. That’s when she was caught on camera with Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders, forcing the actress to admit the transgression and apologize. 

“I’m deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I’ve caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected,” Stewart said at the time. “This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I’m so sorry.”

Donald Trump also managed to involve himself, which is likely a story that has outlived this incident.

Jay Z

Rap mogul Jay-Z’s troubles with  Beyonce are well documented in the public eye. Not only was there the controversial elevator video with the Lemonade singer’s sister Solange Knowles, but the album itself seemed to address some alleged infidelity. 

The rapper had likely already made amends behind the scenes, but he took his apology public with his 2017 album 4:44. Not only did he apologize for his wife’s miscarriages, but he also addressed his alleged cheating. 

“I apologize, our love was one for the ages and I contained us / And all this ratchet s— and we more expansive / Not meant to cry and die alone in these mansions / Or sleep with our back turned,” the lyrics read.  

Ray J

Rapper Ray J is another who was forced to publicly apologize recently after reportedly leaving his wife, Princess Love, and their 19-month-old daughter Melody stranded in Las Vegas. This came to light after Ray J posted a photo with his family to social media and she responded publicly in the comments. 

Princess Love didn’t stop there, alleging that Ray J had a separate phone and was away from his wife and kid during the Vegas trip. He then went on to apologize on Instagram and on PEOPLE‘s Reality Check web series. 

“Well, first off, let me say, Princess, I love you, baby, and I’m sorry for all the things that happened,” Ray J said. “We cool now and we’ll work it out. I know you still mad at me, but as a couple, you go through things and it just got a little bit out of hand.”

Kevin Hart

Comedian Kevin Hart’s infidelity was well documented in headlines and continues to haunt him today amid his career and accident recovery. Hart was allegedly extorted in 2017 over a sexual video posted of him with a woman, speaking out to get ahead of controversy and distance himself from allegations that he was involved in the video’s production. 

Hart apologized to wife Eniko Parrish/Hart and their children in an Instagram video. 

“You know, I’m not perfect … And I made a bad error in judgment and I put myself in a bad environment where only bad things can happen and they did. And in doing that I know that I’m going to hurt the people closest to me, who’ve I talked to and apologized to, that would be my wife and my kids,” Hart said in the clip. “At the end of the day man, I just simply have got to do better. But I’m also not going to allow a person to have financial gain off of my mistakes and in this particular situation that was what was attempted. I said I’d rather fess up to my mistakes.”

Taylor Swift

It has been a long time since Taylor Swift called out Joe Jonas for breaking up with her over a voicemail, but the singer did publicly apologize and regret her decision. 

“Probably when I, like, put Joe Jonas on blast on your show,” Swift told Ellen DeGeneres in 2019. “That was too much. Yeah, that was too much. I was 18. We laugh about it now, but that was mouthy … just teenage stuff there.”

Hugh Grant

During the height of his career, actor Hugh Grant was arrested for hooking up with a sex worker named Divine Brown. He pleaded no contest to the charges and received probation, but his real trial came on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at the time. 

“You know in life what’s a good thing to do and a what’s a bad thing, and I did a bad thing. And there you have it,” Grant said on the show. He recently dug this back up on his own after many tried to shame his efforts in the current UK elections.

Chris Brown

Brown’s relationship with singer Rihanna has been well documented at this point, including the shocking violence that he bore. His attack on the singer in 2009 ahead of the Grammys left Rihanna bruised and bloody, as shown in photos released by police. 

The two have since grown to be more friendly and even dated again, but at the time Brown posted a 2-minute apology video over the incident. 

“I wish I had the chance to live those few moments again, but unfortunately I can’t. I have told Rihanna countless times and I am telling you today that I am truly, truly sorry. What I did was unacceptable — 100 percent. I can only ask and pray that you forgive me.

“I have let a lot of people down I realize that. Nobody is more disappointed in me than I am.”

Tiger Woods

The saga of Tiger Woods’ infidelity against wife Elin Nordegren was a headline grabber in 2009. The golf star’s history of having affairs came out publicly, leading to a violent incident involving his wife and a drop in his golf game. The superstar would apologize in a February 2010 press conference where he admitted his troubles. 

“I have let my family down, and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect.”

Reese Witherspoon

The Big Little Lies actress and husband Jim Toth were arrested for disorderly conduct in 2013 after getting pulled over and charged with a DUI. During the traffic stop, Witherspoon hit the officer with the words you dread to hear from a celebrity. 

“Do you know my name? You’re about to find out who I am. … You are going to be on national news,” Witherspoon told the officer. 

This led to some embarrassment and a public apology on Good Morning America. 

“It’s one of those nights, you know, we went out to dinner in Atlanta and we had one too many glasses of wine and we thought we were fine to drive and we absolutely were not,” the actress told the morning show. “And it’s just completely unacceptable and we are so sorry and embarrassed. And we know better. And we shouldn’t have done that.”