Ted Danson has declared he is prepared to spend the remainder of his life apologizing for his notoriously offensive roast of his then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg more than three decades ago. In 1993, the Cheers actor appeared in blackface at a celebrity roast for Goldberg at the New York Friars Club, where he acted as toastmaster and delivered a routine that included multiple uses of the n-word and disturbingly crude jokes.
Danson’s Ongoing Remorse
Now 78, Danson addressed the “stupid” and “hurtful” act during a recent appearance on W. Kamau Bell’s Who’s With Me? podcast. “I need to and I want to apologize for the rest of my life,” he said on Wednesday’s episode. “Because somebody today can go on the internet and go, ‘What the f***? Yeah. Wow, I feel betrayed, I feel angry,’ and whatever. And I did that.”
Although Danson was legally married to Casey Coates at the time, he was publicly involved in a romantic affair with Goldberg that ended weeks after the roast, following 18 months together.
Goldberg’s Defense and Danson’s Explanation
Danson noted that the Sister Act star has defended him “sweetly and gracefully” in the years since the scandal. He offered a direct apology to her: “Whoopi, I apologize if you’re listening.” He explained that the relationship was ending when they approached the Friars Club to withdraw, but the club had already sold too many tickets, forcing them to proceed.
The Good Place star said he prepared the routine for months with Goldberg’s help, intending to mock media coverage of their interracial relationship. “The press and the news was not the healthiest — news were going after us, you know, mixed race and affair,” he said. “It couldn’t be because they liked each other or saw something in each other. It had to be sex. It had to be just pure sex.”
Danson recalled thinking, “Here is one of the most outrageous, funny Black women in the world, and I’m supposed to be roasting her, and I’m not a stand-up.” He admitted the decision was “so stupid and entitled,” believing he could pull it off. On stage, he sensed the crowd’s reaction: “Twenty percent of the crowd gets this and thinks it’s pretty cool and gets it. Thirty percent of the crowd gets it and f***ing hates it. Fifty percent of the crowd didn’t get it and f***ing hated it and hated me. And I kept going.”
Continued Apology and Reflection
Goldberg, who said she helped write the material and find the makeup artist, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Danson acknowledged she approved the jokes beforehand and defended him afterward, but he still recognizes the performance was a bad decision due to the backlash. “I am forever apologetic,” he said. “I knew what my intention was. My intention was love. But it doesn’t matter. Your intentions do not matter. The impact you have on people is what matters.”
He concluded: “It was stupid, and it was not my place. And it was wrong, and it was hurtful. So I apologize again to anyone who’s listening, that I was arrogant enough to think that I had something to offer.”
