When celebs say ‘I am sorry’, it’s not just a phrase – it remains in feeds and on the internet forever. While the person being said sorry to often forgets, the Internet never does. Year after year, fans are reminded of raging celebrity controversies and the apologies that came soon after in the form of social media posts.
From Akshay Kumar to Karan Johar, we bring to you a list of celebs who continue to make headlines for their public apologies in the past.
1) Akshay Kumar’s tricolour controversy and apology
Akshay Kumar once received a lot of hate for holding the Indian flag upside down. The Internet was of the opinion that he violated the code of conduct for the tricolour. The Hera Pheri actor later took to X (formerly Twitter) and issued an apology. He wrote: “Extending my sincerest apology for violating the code of conduct for the tricolor. Didn’t mean to offend anyone, the picture has been removed (sic).”
2) Siddharth’s open letter to Saina Nehwal
Siddharth once left a distasteful comment on Saina Nehwal’s post on national security. After X users bashed him, the actor penned an apology note for Saina. It read: “Dear Saina, I want to apologise to you for my rude joke that I wrote as a response to a tweet of yours a few days ago. I may disagree with you on many things, but even my disappointment or anger when I read your tweet, cannot justify my tone and words. I know I have more grace in me than that. As for the joke, if a joke needs to be explained, then it wasn’t a very good joke, to begin with. Sorry about a joke that didn’t land. I, however, must insist my wordplay and humour had none of the malicious intent that so many people from all quarters have attributed to it. I am a staunch feminist ally and I assure you there was no gender implied in my tweet and certainly no intent to attack you as a woman. I hope we can put this behind us and that you will accept my letter. You will always be my Champion (sic).”
3) Karan Johar’s pandemic post regret
During the nationwide lockdown in 2020, filmmaker Karan Johar dropped a video where he sarcastically pointed out that the real heroes of the pandemic are celebrities. The producer was brutally trolled online. Soon after, he wrote on X, “This hit me hard and I have realised many of my posts may have been insensitive to many…I apologise profusely and wish to add none of it was intentional and came from a place of sharing but clearly may have lacked emotional foresight ….am sorry!”
4) Lucky Ali’s apology to Javed Akhtar
In October 2025, Lucky Ali made controversial remarks about Javed Akhtar, calling him “never original and ugly as f**k” for Hindi-Muslim comments that he made at a throwback event. The next day, he issued an apology, stating: “What I meant was that arrogance is ugly… it was a mistaken communique on my part… monsters may have feelings too and I apologise if I hurt anyone’s monstrosity…”
5) Pawan Singh’s apology to Anjali Raghav
In August 2025, Bhojpuri actress Anjali Raghav called out actor-politician Pawan Singh for inappropriately touching her waist at an event. The video went viral, and a public backlash soon followed. Soon after, Pawan Singh issued an apology on Instagram. Tagging Anjali, he wrote, “Due to a busy schedule, Anjali ji, I couldn’t watch your live. When I came to know about the matter, I felt bad. I had no wrong intentions because we are all artists. Still, if you were hurt by my actions, I sincerely apologise.”
Anjali Raghav reposted Pawan Singh’s apology and penned, “Pawan Singh ji accepted his mistake and apologised. He is elder than me and a senior artist. I have forgiven him. I do not want to take this matter forward. Jai Shree Ram.”
Which celeb’s public apology do you still remember?
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