Sophie Ellis-Bextor has apologised to Robbie Williams after a clip of her being ‘very rude’ to the singer resurfaced in a new Netflix documentary.
Watch the apology she posted on Instagram below:
Robbie, 49, has released a four-part Netflix series looking back on his career, with hundreds of hours of ‘intimate, never-before-seen personal archive’ clips helping him reflect on the highs and lows he’s been through.
At one point, we see footage reflecting what the music industry was saying about Robbie in the late 90s – with a then-19-year-old Sophie Ellis-Bextor telling Jo Whiley during an interview: “To me he hasn’t got any charm about him. Why people embrace him, I find it baffling and it makes me a bit sad really.”
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Whiley then said: “His voice is not fantastic.”
Sophie had also described him a ‘tart’ and a ‘prat’ - comments that Robbie famously hit back at by saying she had a ‘face like a satellite dish and my nan’s ankles’.
After her remarks resurfaced, the ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ singer has come out with a public apology to Robbie, admitting what she’d said was ‘horrible’ and that she’d felt 'terrible about it for about 20 years'.
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Posting a video to Instagram, Sophie explained she’d actually reached out to Robbie a few years back to bury the hatchet, and that he had been ‘gracious and forgiving’.
However, she felt compelled to address the matter again following the release of the Netflix documentary.
In the caption accompanying her apology, Sophie wrote: “In 1998, aged 19, I was very rude about @robbiewilliams and the clip of me being horrid is included in his brilliant Netflix documentary. I didn’t need to see it again to feel bad.
“I genuinely have felt crappy about how I spoke for the 25 years since I said it. I thought it was clever to be gobby back then but it wasn’t cool then and it’s even worse to see it now. Not proud. Not how I’m raising my kids.”
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She continued: “That being said, I wanted to reach out and apologise so a few years back I found an address for Robbie and wrote him a note to say how sorry I was.
“He was very gracious and forgiving. We ended up meeting last summer and I spent time with him, his amazing wife @aydafieldwilliams and his gorgeous kids.
“It was lovely to be able to become friends and we have now made some songs together.
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“I suppose the moral of this story is, as ever, be kind. To own your mistakes. And if you’re ever cruel, try to make sure it’s not filmed as it’s bloody brutal to see sharp tongued teenage me after all these years! Yikes.”
Many of Sophie’s followers praised her for owning her mistakes, with one commenting: “I did see it, and was a bit surprised. However, 19 seems to be the age when we act our worst. You’ve owned it, apologized, and grown from it.”
Comedian Jenny Eclaire added: “The 90s were toxic and we were all encouraged to be vile - I look back on that time and squirm and I was a lot older than you.”
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A third wrote: “Robbie’s no saint and has said more than his fair share of horrible things to people and about people over the years. It’s good that you both have cleared the air though.”
Another agreed: “Robbie wasn't very nice about Gary so I'm sure he understands a young 19 year old as do most well rounded people.”
Topics: Music, Netflix, Instagram, Celebrity, Robbie Williams
Jess Hardiman