Volkswagen CEO Martin Winkerhorn
"Sorry." It's a simple word that can get a lot of attention.
"Sorry." It's a simple word that can get a lot of attention. When it comes to mea culpas, the bigger they are, the brighter the media spotlight around the apology. If you think you ever messed up big in 2015, take a look at some of the sorriest people of the past year, and you might feel a little better about yourself.
Back in September, after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered software in Volkswagen cars that could improve results during performance checks, the German car manufacturer admitted to cheating on emissions tests through a "defeat device" in diesel engines on some VW, Audi and Porsche models. The auto manufacturer has had to recall millions of its cars, including some 500,000 in the United States, and will be shelling out billions to cover the costs of recalls and settlements.
In a video statement released in German, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winkerhorn apologized for the deception. Later that month, he resigned, taking responsibility for the scandal.
Volkswagen Group/YouTube
Ashley Madison Users
Ashley Madison users, who numbered 37 million according to site owner Avid Life Media, collectively found out the jig was up after reports that their customer information had been stolen by hackers. The site offered a service to allow married men and women to hook up, though the data breach revealed the user base to skew almost entirely male.
In addition to the apology from Avid Life Media for the "unprovoked and criminal intrusion," we're guessing millions of Ashley Madison users were saying their sorries for signing up for a website that facilitated philandering.
Thinkstock/iStock
Chipotle
Chipotle Mexican Grill, a favorite of college students, office workers looking for a fast lunch, or weight lifters trying to pack as many calories into a single tortilla as possible, has been linked to outbreaks of norovirus and E. coli this year.
As of Thursday, 91 people who ate at a Chipotle restaurant in Boston came down with symptoms of norovirus, the Boston Health Commission reported. Up to 141 Boston College students reportedly showed signs of the disease as well after eating at Chipotle last weekend, Reuters reports. This follows an E. coli outbreak that began in August that sickened 52 people in nine states.
In response to the outbreaks, co-CEO Steve Ells apologized and pledged to overhaul food safety protocols to prevent future recurrences.
Wikimedia Commons/Proshob
Sepp Blatter
The FIFA scandal began in May with the near-simultaneous arrests of the soccer organization's bigwigs in Zurich and New York. Many of FIFA's top brass have been slapped with various corruption charges by the U.S. Department of Justice, including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.
Although falling short of an apology, which would be an admission of guilt and a bad move for someone with corruption charges hanging over his head, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who had been described by Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona as a "dictator for life," resigned three days after securing the FIFA presidency for the fifth time over the summer. Blatter has since been suspended from participating in FIFA activities, and is currently under investigation by the FBI.
Just because Blatter didn't apologize for the corruption scandal doesn't mean he's not capable of remorese. Earlier this year, he issued a public apology for moving the schedule for the 2022 World Cup to winter because of the Qatari climate, and also said sorry to the LGBT community for suggesting gay football fans attending the 2022 World Cup should "refrain from sexual activity." No apology was forthcoming, however, for the workers reported to be enduring human rights and workplace safety violations constructing the stadiums for the competition in Qatar.
Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru
New England Patriots
Moving on from fútbol to football, last season's AFC championship game saw the New England Patriots rout the Indianapolis Colts 45-7. But was the Patriots' victory due (once again) to cheating?
The Deflategate controversy cast a shadow over the team's eventual championship-winning season, with the Patriots accused of underinflating their footballs repeatedly to gain an advantage on the field. A report by Manhattan attorney Ted Wells, commissioned by the NFL, only further inflamed the controversy, as many news outlets used it as evidence of cheating, while New England fans saw only conditional statements in the findings and bias in the media. The Patriots even built a website to debunk the Wells Report.
Quarterback Tom Brady initially received a four-game suspension for his alleged involvement in the scandal, a decision made by the league, leading to an apology to fans from Patriots owner Robert Kraft for putting his faith in the NFL and accepting "the harshest penalty in history of NFL for an alleged ball violation." After a judge nullified Brady's suspension, the quarterback apologized for Deflategate being such a distraction to the sport.
WIN MCNAMEE/Reuters/Corbis
Brian Williams
Earlier this year, Brian Williams, one of the most trusted news personalities then on the air, admitted to fabricating a story he had told regarding his time during the Iraq War.
Williams had claimed that an RPG forced an emergency landing in the Chinook helicopter in which he had been traveling. Williams in fact was not in the helicopter; Williams instead landed in a different Chinook half an hour after the incident.
Williams apologized for repeatedly misrepresenting his Iraq War story, describing his telling as "clearly ego-driven," and lost his job as anchor of NBC's Nightly News. After a six-month suspension without pay, Williams returned to the air in September to anchor the visit by Pope Francis for MSNBC.
Wikimedia Commons
Ariana Grande
Every parent has told their child not to play with their food at some point or another. A corollary to that well-worn advice that might be even more important is don't mess with anyone else's food, especially when cameras are rolling. Also, don't hate on America while doing it.
Singer Ariana Grande learned that oddly specific but still critical lesson firsthand when video surfaced of her licking doughnuts at a convenience store, and saying, "I hate America. I hate Americans." Grande apologized for the incident and explained that her words were directed at the nation's unhealthy eating habits in a moment of frustration.
Wikimedia Commons/Melissa Rose
"The View" Hosts
At some point in our lives, everyone is likely going to need medical attention, be it a quick visit to a clinic or waking up in a hospital bed. Given the dependence we all have on medical professionals, it doesn't make very good sense to undermine the abilities of the people on the frontline of healthcare: nurses.
The hosts of ABC's The View mocked the profession after Miss America contestant Kelley Johnson showed up in scrubs during the talent portion of the competition and explained her duties on the job. After the co-hosts described nursing as "not a talent," responses poured in on social media, particularly from nurses, and advertisers began pulling their sponsorship. The co-hosts apologized and dedicated a segment to the profession.
ABC Press
Jim Carrey
Speaking of celebrities with a seeming disregard for the medical profession, earlier this year Jim Carrey tweeted once again his anti-vaccination beliefs, implying that they are toxic and linked to autism, a claim that has been widely debunked.
In making his point, Carrey used the photo of an autistic child without the boy's parents permission. Although Carrey appears to stand by his views, he did apologizeto the boy's parents for causing distress and removed the photo from his Twitter account.
Wikimedia Commons/Ian Smith
Hillary Clinton
An email scandal threatened to be an obstacle for the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and was in the headlines for much of the year as news trickled out regarding the private e-mail server Clinton kept during her time as Secretary of State.
At first, Clinton was reluctant to apologize in order to avoid giving further weight to the controversy. But upon seeing polls slide as voters questioned her trustworthiness and being advised to defuse the issue, Clinton took responsibilityand called the private e-mail server a mistake.
YouTube screengrab/The Select Committee on Benghazi
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