At 78, Ted Danson Makes a Painful Admission About His Most Controversial Moment
Ted Danson addressed his 1993 blackface performance in a recent interview.
He sat down with W. Kamau Bell on his new podcast Who's with Me?, with an episode titled "Ted Danson on Owning Your Mistake."
The Cheers actor explained, "I would like to address this is and apologize forever. I know what was in my heart."
In the early 1990s, Danson was in a relationship with WhoopiGoldberg. She was being roasted at the Friars Club. He thought it would be mostly private, but it later aired on Comedy Central.
"The idea is like we're all going to go into the room and make say the worst things about each other or do the worst things, ‘cause we're inside the club," Bell said.
"The most vile, funny stuff came out of people's mouths," Danson agreed.
The 78-year-old wasn't sure what to do at the roast.
"So my brain was going, ‘Okay, here is one of the most outrageous, funny, Black women in the world at that point. I'm supposed to be roasting her. And I'm not a standup. I can't run with the bulls,'" he said.
Danson admitted that his relationship with Goldberg was ending and attempted to get out of the roast, but was unsuccessful.
The Good Place star shared he worked on the act for months. "I thought I could pull this off," he said. The plan was "so arrogant and stupid on my part."
Once he started talking, Danson said it was clear the crowd was uncomfortable.
He apologized to the The Color Purple star for having to "defend" him. "The last thing she probably wants to do is have [to] be put in this position again," the actor said.
"I am forever apologetic," Danson said. ". . . The other thing I used to say for the longest time, ‘I knew what my intention was. My intention was love.' It doesn't matter. Your intentions do not matter. The impact you have on people is what matters. And if you haven't thought through that, then you need to."
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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 12:25 PM.