Actor’s Apology: “A New Low”

Actor Shia LaBeouf issued an apology this week for his disrespectful behavior towards police officers who arrested him last weekend. He was arrested in Savannah, Georgia, last Saturday, and charged with disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. The police body-camera video of his behavior during the arrest was released and posted on CNN, showing him hurling epithets at the officers and resisting their attempts to subdue him. I broke down the tweeted apology to add some comments:

“I am deeply ashamed of my behavior and make no excuses for it.” This is a good start. We hold our breath to see whether the offender will indeed refrain from making excuses as the apology unfolds.

“I don’t know if these statements are too frequent, or not shared enough…” I have no idea what he’s talking about here; this would’ve been better omitted.

“… but I am certain my actions warrant a very sincere apology to the arresting officers, and I am grateful for their restraint. The severity of my behavior is not lost on me.” An essential element of a sincere apology is to be specific about the offensive behavior. It’s not clear here that the offender knows specifically what he did, but at least he knows it was bad. Acknowledging the other party’s restraint in the face of the offender’s offense is admirable. It would’ve been even better had he acknowledged the impact on those officers.

“My outright disrespect for authority is problematic to say the least, and completely destructive to say the worst. It is a new low. A low I hope is a bottom.” Acknowledging the severity of the behavior, and the impact on others generally, is good.

“I have been struggling with addiction publicly for far too long, and I am actively taking steps towards securing my sobriety.” Victims want to hear how the offender plans to avoid the offensive behavior in the future; if he’s really sorry, he’ll be specific about behaving differently from now on, is their thinking. While mentioning addiction can sometimes sound like an excuse, here it sounds more like an admission of the problem. But, given Mr. LaBeouf’s history on this issue, it may lack the credibility necessary for an effective apology.

“… and I hope I can be forgiven for my mistakes.” The last element of a good apology, according to Peacemaker Ministries’ “7 A’s of Confession”, is to ask for forgiveness.

This apology has some nice turns of phrase (“the severity of my behavior is not lost on me”; “a low I hope is a bottom”) and does not try to minimize the misconduct.

So, scoring according to the “7 A’s of Confession,” giving 2 points maximum for each element for a possible total of 14 points:

  1. Address everyone involved – 2 pts
  2. Avoid “if,” “but,” “maybe” – 2 pts
  3. Admit specifically – 1 pt
  4. Acknowledge the hurt – 1 pt
  5. Alter behavior – 1 pt
  6. Accept consequences – 1 pt
  7. Ask for forgiveness – 2 pts

Total: 10 out of 14. Pretty good apology!