Watching that old interview from 2012 really shifted my view on apologies

I saw a clip of a musician getting grilled about some bad tweets he made a decade ago, and his apology felt super scripted, like his manager wrote it. Then I watched a different interview from just last year where he brought it up himself, explained what he learned, and didn't make excuses, which felt way more real. How do you guys tell when someone's actually grown from their old mistakes versus just doing damage control?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_robin3mo ago

Sometimes the scripted ones are just what a lawyer tells them to say.

theajohnson3mo ago

Ugh, exactly. It feels like that's everywhere now, not just with big apologies. Every company email or help page reads like it was written by a robot who's terrified of getting sued. You can't find a real answer, just a wall of safe, careful words that mean nothing. It makes it impossible to trust what anyone is actually saying anymore.

the_faith3mo ago

Ever try calling them and asking to skip the script?

olivermason19d ago

It's a hard balance for companies though, because one wrong word in a public statement can get them dragged through the mud for weeks. I'd rather get a boring, safe version than have them try to be funny or relatable and watch it blow up in their faces. A lawyer-approved wall of text might not feel warm, but at least it keeps them from accidentally making things way worse.