Variety reports that Michael Keaton has updated his apology for his “Hidden Fences” flub at last week’s Golden Globes, following up his initially glib reply to the incident—in which he became one of several people to conflate Hidden Figures and Fences into one all-powerful, black performer-starring film—with some actual sincerity.
“I’m very, very sorry about that. I get that people thought I was nonchalant about it,” the The Founder star told reporters, referencing the “I’ll sleep pretty well tonight” he tossed off after being told his mistake had gone viral. “At the time I totally didn’t understand what people were talking about, but since then somebody said, ‘Well they’re upset for this other reason’—and that made me feel horrible.” Keaton also noted that his social media presence is fairly minimal, insulating him from the numerous memes that cropped up around the mistake.
Keaton also reassured people that he bore no ill intentions with the error, while acknowledging its inadvertent harm. “They’re incorrect in their assumption,” he said, referencing people who assumed he was exhibiting malicious intent, “But it doesn’t matter that they’re wrong. If someone feels badly that’s all that matters.” Keaton also extended his apology to the stars of Hidden Figures, saying, “Those people in the movie who worked all that time in front of millions of people, I, like a jerk, screwed the line up. What I always think about is they have mothers and sisters and brothers and fathers that are sitting at home waiting for them and watching them and this guy, me, gets up and gives the wrong title. That makes me feel terrible. You feel badly about those things.”