A Lesson on Apologies from Drew Barrymore
Last weekend I found myself thinking about Jeremy, someone I’ve never met, who became “The Main Character of Twitter” in February 2022 after he tweeted:
I don’t know why Jeremy decided to share that message at that point in time, but the internet came for him.
At first, he stood by his message.
But then, after three days of reflecting, he apologized in a series of follow-up tweets.
He admitted his first tweet had been mean.
He said he was sorry.
He listened to the criticism.
He learned.
And he committed to doing better.
I’ve been thinking about Jeremy as I’ve watched the situation unfold over the last week with Drew Barrymore.
Drew was in the news after she announced her decision to resume taping her talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show -– despite the ongoing writers’ strike.
Drew has buckets of goodwill from fans who watched her charm E.T. as a child and grow up to become a more “relatable” celebrity.
But a lot of that goodwill seemed to go out the window when she announced this decision.
It was like that meme of Elmo standing in front of the fire.
Drew’s reasons for resuming her show were not well-articulated, leaving me (and I’m sure many others) confused.
Why would Drew take a decision that would anger so many?
A week of heavy criticism followed, and then Drew issued a strange tearful video where she served up a giant word salad that did not go well with my morning latte.
In the video, she “deeply apologized” to writers and unions.
She mentioned there were “so many reasons why this is so complex” – yet failed to mention one of them.
I wasn’t sure what message she wanted the audience to take away from her video, but it made me think of Jeremy and his apology.
It’s not enough to say “I apologize” or “I take responsibility.”
It’s the next step that is crucial.
What are you going to do now?
That was missing from Drew’s video message.
BUT – my plans to write about that went out the window when I saw that Drew, like Jeremy, had a change of heart.
The next day she posted this message online:
So, it turns out, the show must not go on.
And in this short statement, Drew has apologized (sort of) and taken the action so many were hoping she would.
But the question is, what happens now?
I don’t know the inner workings of the strike, but I understand why people were angry with her decision to resume her show tapings while the strike is ongoing.
Maybe Drew will have to do a short-time stint in “Hollywood Jail” for her initial plans to resume her show.
But I believe that, like Jeremy, she deserves credit for listening – and for responding to the criticism that was leveled at her.
And I hope people might respond to her with a bit of understanding – and grace.
Because we all make mistakes.
And if we want to be forgiven, we must genuinely acknowledge what we’ve done, apologize for our mistake, and then take the next step — the action — to do better.
I believe the internet forgave Jeremy.
And I believe they’ll forgive Drew, too.
And I hope if any of us become the Main Character of Twitter, we will listen and learn like they did, and take the action to earn forgiveness, too.
*If you’re reading this in a bar, Jeremy won’t make fun of you.
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Beth Collier loves writing, pop culture, and people who know how to genuinely apologize.
She also loves helping companies, leaders, and teams improve their communication (and creativity and leadership) through consulting, coaching, and workshops.
Her clients benefit from Beth’s global corporate experience, Midwestern practicality and enthusiasm, and an endless supply of pop culture references.
To find out how Beth can help you become a more confident, creative, and compelling leader – or improve communication in your company – visit www.beth-collier.com or drop her a line at beth@beth-collier.com
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