Actor Benedict Cumberbatch on Monday, 26th of January, apologized for using a derogatory word “colored actors” on a US talk show saying he was “devastated to have caused offense.” The “Sherlock” star was discussing the lack of diversity in British acting scenes when compared to the United States, when he unknowing uttered this derogatory statement: “I think as far as colored actors go, it gets really different in the U.K., and a lot of my friends have had more opportunities here [in the U.S.] than in the U.K., and that’s something that needs to change,” he said last week on PBS talk show Tavis Smiley.
In a statement to People, Cumberbatch further apologized: “I feel the complete fool I am and while I am sorry to have offended people and to learn from my mistakes in such a public manner, please be assured I have. I apologize again to anyone I offended for this thoughtless use of inappropriate language about an issue which affects friends of mine and which I care about deeply.”
The word “colored” is now an outdated one in the United States, but was widely used in the past, before the Civil Rights era. However, if used today, it denotes certain connotations that can be translated as offensive.
