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Failure & regret

Who deserves an apology from you, and for what?

209 answers answered between 1998 and 2026 one of 25 in The Q&A

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The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

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On the record

Public figures who have answered a question like this elsewhere. Quoted from the source shown, not written for FLAPSS.

Read by field Everyone Science and medicine 1 Arts and letters 178 Politics and public life 13 Business and finance 5 Sport 12
Read by age Any age Before thirty 4 In their thirties 37 In their forties 46 In their fifties 47 In their sixties 40 Seventy and beyond 32
Order Earliest first Most recent Surprise me
Ed Harris American actor and director
Dick Cheney for hating him for being one of the most destructive people on Earth.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 August 2007 source ↗
Ice-T American rapper and actor
My kids, for not being around much.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 November 2015 source ↗
Gina McKee British actress
My brother: I never meant to kill your pet frog. I thought I was doing a good deed cleaning the mossy tank with bleach. Can I also say sorry to the frog?
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 January 2016 source ↗
Eddie Izzard British comedian and actress
Nelson Mandela, because I didn’t do enough to stop apartheid. Now I have hopefully made amends.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 May 2016 source ↗
Tracey Ullman British and American actress
I did a crap impersonation of JK Rowling a few years ago. Sorry, JK. Can this apology put me on a casting list for your next mega-franchise?
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 March 2017 source ↗
Cynthia Nixon American actress and politician
Everybody, now and before, who was fleeing for their lives and wasn’t allowed into our country.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 April 2017 source ↗
Kiefer Sutherland British and Canadian actor
There have been moments when I’d want to say sorry to both my parents for some of the stuff I’ve done.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 September 2017 source ↗
Bella Freud British fashion designer
I’ve said sorry to everybody I wanted to – I’m good at saying sorry quickly.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 September 2017 source ↗
Rick Astley Singer, songwriter and radio presenter
My wife, because she manages me and sometimes there isn’t time for niceties and we have to talk in a language that isn’t very marriage-like.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 October 2018 source ↗
Ian Wright English footballer and pundit
My ex-wife, because I should have been a better man.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 July 2019 source ↗
Rhys Ifans Welsh actor and musician
To anyone I’ve unintentionally hurt or upset.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 September 2019 source ↗
Christopher Eccleston English actor
To my children, because their mum and dad’s relationship failed, and I know that has caused them great sadness.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 October 2019 source ↗
David Harewood British actor and presenter
My first girlfriend when I left drama school. I was a bit of tart.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2019 source ↗
Jason Isaacs English actor
Anybody who met me before I was 30, because I was a drug addict, and all my relationships were experienced through that prism.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 November 2020 source ↗

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