Actor Ted Danson has again apologized for appearing in blackface during a 1993 Friars Club roast of Whoopi Goldberg, saying on a new podcast that he intends to keep expressing remorse for the rest of his life.
Speaking on W. Kamau Bell’s podcast “Who’s With Me?,” the “Cheers” and “The Good Place” actor opened up about the incident, which occurred at the New York Friars Club while he was romantically linked with Ms. Goldberg. The roast included racial slurs and jokes about the pair’s sex life, drawing backlash from those in attendance as well as public figures, including David N. Dinkins, New York City’s first Black mayor.
The reaction in the room was stark. During Mr. Danson’s monologue, talk show host Montel Williams turned his back to the audience, then stared at the floor before rising and walking off the podium. Mr. Williams later sent a message to Friars Club chairman Bob Saks comparing the event to a rally for the Ku Klux Klan or Aryan Nation. Mr. Dinkins, who was seated at the dais among more than 100 celebrities, was among those who sat visibly uncomfortable throughout the performance, according to a contemporaneous account by Roger Ebert.
In the podcast episode, Mr. Danson said he framed the performance at the time as “performance theater” — an attempt at edgy satire about race and interracial relationships that he had workshopped with Ms. Goldberg in advance. He expressed regret that he thought “this white guy could have something valuable to say about race and race relations,” calling the decision “so arrogant and stupid.” He said he realized almost immediately that the routine was failing. “Within 20 seconds, I was like, ’I stuck my finger in a light socket,’” he said. “I thought I was doing a satire on mixed relationships, and I thought I was being edgy.”
Mr. Danson also apologized to Ms. Goldberg for continuing to put her in a position where she has had to speak up for him.
“Poor Whoopi Goldberg has had to defend me over the years, sweetly and gracefully,” he said. “The last thing she probably wants to do is be put in this position again.” At the time of the roast, Ms. Goldberg defended Mr. Danson publicly, saying she had helped write some of the material and that his intentions were not racist.
Mr. Danson admitted that their relationship was coming to an end and that the two had tried to get out of the roast, but the Friars Club had “sold so many tickets,” making it impossible to back out.
On the question of intent, Mr. Danson said the years have changed his thinking.
“Your intentions do not matter. The impact you have on people is what matters,” he told Mr. Bell. “And if you haven’t thought through that, then you need to. I thought I could run with the big boys, and I couldn’t. And it was stupid, and it was not my place, and it was wrong, and it was hurtful.”
The podcast episode aired Wednesday. The renewed apology, as reported by Variety, comes more than 30 years after one of the most widely covered controversies of Mr. Danson’s career.
The 1993 roast has continued to surface in public discourse. In a 1993 New Year’s Eve pay-per-view special, Howard Stern appeared in blackface and repeatedly used racial slurs in a sketch parodying Mr. Danson’s Friars Club performance. The footage resurfaced in 2020, prompting Mr. Stern to address it on his SiriusXM program.
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