a good apology to take you into the weekend

Is it time for some feel-good apology news? We think it is. Even if it is not the most TIMELY news. (Sorry. Your SorryWatch team has had other things on their minds.)

On October 27th, actor Chris Hemsworth posted a picture of himself with the Indigenous director Taika Waititi on the set of Thor: Ragnorok.

not this picture

Hemsworth and Waititi were holding a sign saying, “We Stand with Standing Rock.” The text of the post contained an apology.

Hemsworth had attended a party in Australia wearing a long black wig, “war paint” and presumably a “Native” costume. In an Instagram shot posted by Hemsworth’s wife, Elsa Pataky, Hemsworth was seen posing with mugging fellow guests in feathered headdresses inside a frame designed to look like a “Wanted” poster.

Critics immediately called the couple out on social media for cultural appropriation. At the time, they didn’t respond.

But Hemsworth was clearly listening. His apology in the Facebook post is excellent. He says he’s sorry; he does not blame anyone else; he cites his own ignorance; he expresses a desire to learn; in doing advocacy for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota (who as you probably know are fighting against construction of the $3.7 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline), he’s trying to use his fame to make amends. All the important notes of good apologizing are sounded.

Here are some bonus pictures. Chris Hemsworth is an excellent apologizer and I apologize for objectifying him.