ApologifyThe week’s public apologies, scored.
Just Eat Acts; Freshfields Falls Short
Just Eat earns a 4 by removing inaccurate images and pausing rollout, showing why corrective action matters even when accountability is incomplete. Freshfields gets a 0.5 for an apology that distances the firm from the comment without offering repair.
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This week
The archive
Duke Player Takes Responsibility; Andy Harris Offers No Apology
Stephen A. Smith Owns Up; Mike Elko Sidesteps
Kylie Kelce’s Correction, Fosi Schmidt’s Missing Apology
OpenAI Owns Up; Ed Sheeran Passes the Buck
Oxford United Acts; Pakistani Radio Host Leans on Intent
HYROX Owns Inaction; BAPS Sidesteps the Harm
Suvendu Adhikari Leads; Doug Eddings Strikes Out
Lewis Hamilton Takes Responsibility; Mel Gibson Deflects
We score the apology, never the person.
We read what was actually said and give it a number. Points go to apologies that do six things:
- Takes responsibility
- “I did it”, in the first person. Never “mistakes were made”.
- Names the act
- Says exactly what happened instead of “the incident”.
- Offers repair
- Something concrete and checkable: a refund, a donation, a policy change.
- Expresses regret
- Specific to the people who were hurt.
- Won’t repeat it
- A promise backed by a step someone can verify.
- Says sorry
- Actually apologises, out loud.
Points come off for the passive voice, “if anyone was offended”, blaming others, apologising only once it went viral, and lawyered statements that say nothing. Disagree with us? Sign in and give every apology your own score. Our study of 845 real apologies found the same rule: the ones that land name what was done.