Ted Danson apologizes for blackface stunt at then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg’s 1993 roast

Ted Danson vows he will “apologize forever” for his 1993 blackface stunt astatine his then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg’s roast.

The “Cheers” alum regretfully reflected connected nan incident during his June 3 quality connected W. Kamau Bell’s “Who’s With Me?” podcast, praising Goldberg for her handling of nan incident earlier owning up to his “arrogant” mistake.

“Poor Whoopi Goldberg has had to take sides maine complete nan years, sweetly and gracefully,” he began. “So nan past point she astir apt wants to do is beryllium put successful this position again.”

“I would for illustration to reside this and apologize forever. I cognize what was successful my heart, truthful I person nary problem talking astir this. But I request to and want to apologize for nan remainder of my life because personification coming tin spell connected nan net and go, ‘What nan f–k? Wow, I consciousness betrayed, I consciousness angry.’ And I did that,” Danson said.

At nan time, his narration pinch Goldberg was slow being put connected ice, and while they tried to get retired of nan roast, nan Friars Club (which hosted nan roast) threatened to writer them if they dropped retired because they “had sold truthful galore tickets.”

The character past explained that his volition was to propulsion an over-the-top stunt successful bid to support up pinch nan comics successful nan room.

“So my encephalon was going, ‘OK, present is 1 of nan astir outrageous, funny Black women successful nan world, astatine that point. And I’m expected to beryllium roasting her and I’m not a stand-up, I can’t tally pinch nan bulls. I’m an character astatine best,’” he said.

“So I was like, ‘God, what americium I gonna do?’ And past I thought, ‘Well I tin do capacity theater.'”

“I looked astatine each these tapes and it’s like, good if I were Black, I could opportunity each these outrageous things. I’m not; past my mind went, I will do it successful blackface and that will beryllium funny aliases not, but it will beryllium like, ‘I person licence now,'” Danson continued.

Danson noted really during this time, he and nan “Color Purple” prima were perpetually getting antagonistic comments successful nan property complete their interracial relationship.

“It couldn’t beryllium because they liked each different aliases saw thing successful each different … It had to beryllium conscionable axenic sex, that’s nan only logic for a narration for illustration this,” he said.

He specifically “latched connected to” Goldberg’s remarks that she didn’t attraction astir group utilizing nan n-word, because you didn’t request “nasty language” to beryllium racist.

“It had a existent f—ing separator to it,” he recalled of nan bit.

“I thought I could propulsion this off. I thought that, there’s nary 1 been whiter than maine successful nan world, that this achromatic feline could person thing valuable to opportunity astir title and title relations was truthful stupid and entitled. I thought, ‘Oh, I tin beryllium Robin Williams. I tin measurement up, and I tin propulsion this off. I cognize it’s bold, but I tin propulsion this off.’ And that was truthful arrogant and stupid connected my part.”

But contempt moving “for months” connected nan bit, things quickly went near “within 20 seconds” of his performance.

“It was for illustration I stuck my digit successful a ray socket,” he recalled.

At nan time, Goldberg defended Danson’s blackface spot aft it received nationalist backlash.

“We were not trying to beryllium politically correct. We were trying to beryllium funny for ourselves,” Goldberg said successful a 1993 property conference, per Deseret News. She besides admitted to penning astir of Danson’s jokes and hiring nan creator who painted him successful blackface.

The “View” co-host besides publication a connection from Danson that read: “There was excessively overmuch emotion down my words to ever beryllium misconstrued arsenic racist.”