Tom Hiddleston apologizes for Golden Globes – ‘The Night Manager’ speech, but did he need to?

On Sunday night, we saw Tom Hiddleston win a Golden Globe for his role on AMC’s “The Night Manager,” and he delivered a speech that, while awkward, was certainly well-intentioned. He was trying to tell a story about how the purpose of actors is to bring joy to people around the world, but (apparently) to some it came off as self-indulgent as he spoke about how his show managed to provide a distraction for some relief workers in South Sudan.

Anyway, as a result of this criticism (we’ll give our opinion on that in a minute), we learned earlier today that Hiddleston issued an apology for his remarks via his official Facebook page:

“I just wanted to say… I completely agree that my speech at the Golden Globes last night was inelegantly expressed. In truth, I was very nervous, and my words just came out wrong. Sincerely, my only intention was to salute the incredible bravery and courage of the men and women who work so tirelessly for UNICEF UK, Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and World Food Programme, and the children of South Sudan, who continue to find hope and joy in the most difficult conditions. I apologise that my nerves got the better of me.”

Let us now go on the record and say that the idea that Tom somehow needed to apologize for what he said may very well be one of the most ridiculous things ever. Everything he said came from a place of wanting to shine a light on true heroism; he wasn’t saying anything controversial, wasn’t being negative, and absolutely wasn’t hurting anyone. There are so many out there who are doing things a million times worse, and are not apologizing for it at all.

Cheers to Tom if he nonetheless wanted to clear the air after last night, but the idea that some people out there were genuinely upset by his speech is discouraging given that there are so many other things worth being upset about in the world. Take, for example, the talk about charity work in his speech, which most of us seem to be completely ignoring in favor of cynicism. Are we that desensitized to charity that we completely ignore it to talk about how his speech “came off”? If he’s doing important work, we do think he’s earned the right to come off as self-important here and there, especially when that’s not his intention.

We need to let out a deep sigh and get away from this before we rant further.

For now, let us know if you think Hiddleston needed to apologize for this in the comments. (Photo: AMC.)