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* In ''[[Donnie Darko]]'', when the independent-minded teacher complains to the head about being fired, all he says is "I'm sorry you have failed."
* ''[[Zoolander]]'': Though it's entirely possible that in Derek's case, he was [[Too Dumb to Live|being genuine]].
{{quote| '''Derek:''' I'm sorry that good-looking people like us made you throw up and feel bad about yourself.<br />
...and...<br />
'''Mugatu:''' Oh, I'm sorry, did my pin get in the way of your ass? Do me a favor and lose five pounds immediately or get out of my building like now! }}
* ''[[Mean Girls]]'' has a scene where each girl is supposed to apologize and do a trust fall. One of the [[Girl Posse]] members makes this excuse for an apology, which leaves few willing to stand behind her to catch her when she falls:
{{quote| '''Gretchen:''' I'm sorry that people are so jealous of me... but I can't help it that I'm so popular.}}
* The title character's apology in ''[[Patton]]'' for slapping a soldier under his charge, which is based off something Patton did in real life.
 
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* ''[[The Carpet People]]'':
{{quote| '''Owlglass''': He was sentenced to death for telling the Emperor that he was a blithering idiot who didn't have the brains of a meat pie.<br />
'''Pismire''': Actually, I got sentenced to death for apologising.<br />
'''Snibril''': How can you be sentenced to death for apologising?<br />
'''Pismire''': I said I was sorry, and that, on reflection, he did have the brains of a meat pie. }}
* [[Plato]]'s ''[[Apology of Socrates]]'' appears to be one of these, considering that Socrates spends most of his speech lamenting how stupid everybody is. But the definition of "apology" at the time also meant "a reasoned argument in justification of something". So Socrates's "apology" was him explaining to the people of Athens his beliefs and methods.
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* ''[[House]]'' is forced to apologize to Cuddy's mother: "I'm sorry...that we saved your life", he starts, and then steers it back to a straight apology: "...in the way that we did". Wilson gives the apology a B+.
* ''[[Bewitched]]'': Maurice and Endora are not known to fully admit they're in the wrong.
{{quote| '''Maurice:''' I apologize that your abominable behavior had so exhausted my patience that I was goaded into a slight transgression.}}
* ''[[The Closer]]'': Assistant Chief Pope has received numerous complaints about friction between Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson and other legal departments, and so has ordered her to apologize to the offended parties.
{{quote| '''Brenda:''' I'd like to start with you, Ms. Powell. I'd like to say how sorry I am that I was unable to ignore your general level of incompetence in the wrongly obtained conviction in the case of Bill Croelick. And I'm sorry if you felt hurt and defensive about putting a man on death row for the wrong crime, and I certainly hope that that will never, ever happen again. Agent Jackson, I deeply regret that the FBI handed over two million dollars to a man on a terrorist watch list without the capacity to trace it, or managed to follow him for months without knowing his wife was having an affair with a doctor, and I hope you do much better in the future. Captain Taylor, I suppose I should apologize to you for not having been born in Los Angeles, but having seen you work up close now for several months, I can honestly say that try as I might, I can't think of any fair and reasonable system on earth where I wouldn't outrank you. There. I hope that clears everything up.}}
** Pope himself delivers a nice one in season 4 to a man accused of killing his wife due to past domestic abuse:
{{quote| '''Chief Pope''': On behalf of the entire LAPD, allow me to say how sorry I am that you lied to us so much and that you knocked your wife around to such an extent that we considered you a suspect in her murder.}}
* On ''[[Babylon 5]]'', Sheridan's apology to the Centauri firmly cemented him as an awesome replacement to Sinclair. It's just a pity he never got to carry it out to them.
{{quote| '''Sheridan:''' I apologize. I'm... sorry. I'm sorry we had to defend ourselves against an unwarranted attack. I'm sorry that your crew was stupid enough to fire on a station filled with a quarter million civilians, including your own people. And I'm sorry I waited as long as I did before I blew them all straight to hell! ...'[[Ironic Echo|As with everything else, it's the thought that counts]].'}}
* From ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'', Merlin ends up calling the the country's esteemed Prince, a "Royal ass". Bewildered at being insulted by a commoner, the Prince charges at Merlin announcing:
{{quote| Prince: I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth.<br />
Merlin: Wow, and how long have you been training to be a 'prat'?<br />
Prince: (Having had enough) You ''can't'' address me like that.<br />
Merlin: Sorry... How long have you been training to be a 'prat'...''My Lord''? }}
* From ''[[Scrubs]]'', after Carla tried to interfere in Perry and Jordan's relationship, Turk persuades her to apologise to Jordan:
{{quote| '''Carla''': I didn't mean to upset you. Even though everything I said was true, and you know it.<br />
'''Turk''': Baby, that is a God-awful apology. Just God-awful.<br />
'''Jordan''': Yeah, that's 'cause she's not really sorry. }}
* ''[[The Colbert Report]]'': Stephen likes to invert this by proclaiming "I accept your apology" to someone who has not, in fact, apologized in any way.
* ''[[Sex and the City]]'': Carrie apologizes to Big's trophy-wife for having an affair with Big, to which she reples "I'm sorry too: I'm sorry you cheated with my husband, ran around behind my back, and caused me to fall and break my tooth, requiring 27 stitches and hours of painful surgery."
* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'':
{{quote| WE WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THE WAY IN WHICH POLITICIANS ARE REPRESENTED IN THIS PROGRAMME. IT WAS NEVER OUR INTENTION TO IMPLY THAT POLITICIANS ARE WEAK-KNEED, POLITICAL TIME-SERVERS WHO ARE CONCERNED MORE WITH THEIR PERSONAL VENDETTAS AND PRIVATE POWER STRUGGLES THAN THE PROBLEMS OF GOVERNMENT, NOR TO SUGGEST AT ANY POINT THAT THEY SACRIFICE THEIR CREDIBILITY BY DENYING FREE DEBATE ON VITAL MATTERS IN THE MISTAKEN IMPRESSION THAT PARTY UNITY COMES BEFORE THE WELL-BEING OF THE PEOPLE THEY SUPPOSEDLY REPRESENT NOR TO IMPLY AT ANY STAGE THAT THEY ARE SQUABBLING LITTLE TOADIES WITHOUT AN OUNCE OF CONCERN FOR THE VITAL SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF TODAY. NOR INDEED DO WE INTEND THAT VIEWERS SHOULD CONSIDER THEM AS CRABBY ULCEROUS LITTLE SELF-SEEKING VERMIN WITH FURRY LEGS AND AN EXCESSIVE ADDICTION TO ALCOHOL AND CERTAIN EXPLICIT SEXUAL PRACTICES WHICH SOME PEOPLE MIGHT FIND OFFENSIVE.}}
* In one episode of ''Wonders of the Solar System'', Brian Cox made an offhand remark that "astrology is a load of rubbish". After the show received complaints, he made a statement which sadly was not chosen as the BBC's official response on the issue:
{{quote| ''"I apologise to the astrology community for not making myself clear. I should have said that this new age drivel is undermining the very fabric of our civilisation."''}}
* The "Soup Nazi" episode of ''[[Seinfeld]]'' spawned one of these. Apparently, Jerry Seinfeld and several writers went to the restaurant of the man (Al Yeganeh) that the character had been based on. He recognized them and launched into a rant about how the episode had "ruined his life" and demanded an apology. Seinfeld stood up and gave, to quote, "the most sarcastic, insincere apology" he'd ever heard. Yeganeh then yelled "No soup for you!" and threw them out of the restaurant.
* In ''[[Frasier]]'', Niles bears some animosity towards Frasier's ex-wife Lilith after she sniggered during Maris' wedding vows. When Frasier tries to get the two to reconcile, Lilith responds along the lines of "If Niles is so insecure that he needs an apology for something so minor, then fine, I apologise." Niles joyfully accepts.
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* After a reader with the surname Dork complained about a ''[[Dilbert]]'' strip using 'Dork' as an insult, Scott Adams printed a reply in which Dogbert apologised 'To all the Dorks who were offended'.
* [[Non Sequitur (comic strip)|Danae]] ''loves'' this [http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2010/03/19 concept].
{{quote| '''Danae:''' Sorry if you mistook something I said as somehow being offensive. Now everyone should stop dwelling on the past and just get over it.}}
 
 
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* A closing gag on ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' has Homer being chased by the mob. He then screams that he's sorry, [[Rule of Funny|causing them to stop and decide to leave him be.]] [[What an Idiot!|He then invokes this trope and the chase resumes.]]
* ''[[The Boondocks]]'':
{{quote| '''Riley''':Mrs. Dubois, I'm sorry your cobbler look like throw-up with peas in it.}}
* ''[[Family Guy]]'': Mel Gibson's "apology" to the Jews, and also:
{{quote| '''Peter:''' Hey, hey, hey. Easy, fella. That's my kid. Now apologize.<br />
'''Douchebag<ref>who looks like a guy but is really a stupendously ugly fat chick</ref>:''' Okay. I'm sorry your kid's a brain-dead stinking blue cheese fatass. }}
* Squirt and Shimmer do this to each other in "Stumped" on ''[[Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends]]'' after having a fight over a hollyberry. Holley demands that they stop fighting and apologize to each other. "Sorry your ugly scarecrow won't have a head," shouts Squirt and Shimmer retorts "And ''I'm'' sorry that you're the world's worst berry thief!" Later, the two apologize to each other for real after they cool off and realize the pettiness of their earlier behavior.
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== Real Life ==
* During a televised awards show, reasonably popular stand-up comedian and breakfast radio host Dave Hughes refers to 'shock-jock' Kyle Sandilands as a "massive dickhead". Everyone laughs. Except Kyle Sandilands, who proceeds to underscore the statement by proclaiming on his show the following day: "I don't care if I go to jail for three months, that guy needs a punch in the throat. Simple." Hughes responded with a press release. In its entirety:
{{quote| "Mr Dave Hughes has issued a public apology to Mr Kyle Sandilands, who has made comments in the past days in reference to remarks made by Mr Hughes at the 2007 TV Week Logie Awards. Mr Hughes said : 'I am sincerely and deeply sorry that Kyle Sandilands is a massive dickhead.' Mr Hughes hopes that this sincere and unreserved apology will put this ugliness to rest and stop Mr Sandilands from going to jail. Mr Hughes further remarked: 'No one deserves to go to jail just for being a massive dickhead. Massive dickheads have the same rights as normal people.' Mr Hughes is not available for further comment on this matter."}}
* On Fandom Wank, this is known as a [http://wiki.fandomwank.com/index.php/Heidipology Heidipology].
* There is a rule in the British Parliament that forbids personal insults. [[Benjamin Disraeli]] said "Half the Cabinet<ref>Committee of high-ranking government ministers</ref> are asses.", He was ordered to apologize and he said "Mr. Speaker, I withdraw that remark, half the Cabinet are NOT asses." in a tone of voice that implied that the other half are asses.
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** Late 2011 presented an archetypal example from Paul Christoforo of Ocean Marketing who, in the course of publicly abusing some customers, did not believe that one of the people he was talking to ran [[Penny Arcade]]. [http://www.popehat.com/2011/12/27/outsource-your-marketing-outsource-your-reputation-and-ethics-applies-to-every-industry/ Hilarity ensued.] The [http://www.popehat.com/2011/12/28/internet-justice-and-paul-christoforos-awful-non-apology/ series of non-apologies was summarized] as "Sorry, I wouldn't have done that if I had known I couldn't get away with it."
* When [[Countdown with Keith Olbermann|Keith Olbermann]] was removed from Current in March 2012, he released a statement on Twitter which began with this:
{{quote| I'd like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV.}}
 
 
== Web Original ==
* [[Dragon Ball Abridged|Team Four Star's DBZ Abridged]]: Vegeta gets one in at the end of the first season, due to Goku's insistence that if Vegeta says he's sorry, he can leave Earth unmolested. The result?
{{quote| '''Vegeta:''' I'm sorry. Yep. ''Totally'' sorry. I just feel terrible. Yes, I'm very, very, "very" sorry...(capsule door shuts) THAT YOU'RE ALL STILL ALIVE! SUCKERS!}}
 
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