Gary Oldman offered up one of the weirdest written apologies I think I’ve ever read. Oldman’s Playboy interview is still knocking people sideways and there’s a laundry list of offended parties, not limited to: African-Americans, Jews, the LGBT community and women. That’s a lot of people to piss off in just ONE interview. But many of you thought that Oldman made it SO MUCH worse with his bizarro-world apology to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Many of you thought the apology read like satire, or like a joke apology. Apparently, the ADL agreed.

The Anti-Defamation League was unimpressed by Oldman’s apology for defending Mel Gibson’s past anti-Semitic comments.

“We have just begun a conversation with his managing producer,” said Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the ADL. “At this point, we are not satisfied with what we have received. His apology is insufficient and not satisfactory.”

Foxman amplified those remarks on Wednesday: “While his apology may be heartfelt, Mr. Oldman does not understand why his words about Jewish control were so damaging and offensive, and it is therefore insufficient.”

“His reference to the Neal Gabler book he was reading only reinforces the notion that Jewish directors, producers and financiers are there in Hollywood as Jews. They’re not, and the book does not draw that conclusion. They are there acting as individuals. They do not pursue a Jewish agenda or strategy. They are there acting as professionals and Americans with skills working alongside many other non-Jews who are also in show business for the same reasons.”

“Mr. Oldman needs to recognize that his words, not just as they were written, but as he uttered them, are deeply offensive. And he needs to be sensitive to the fact that other remarks for which he has yet to apologize – including his disparaging remarks about the Pope and about gay people – were also deeply troubling and hurtful to many.”

“Whether they intend it or not, celebrities act as role models and bear an outsized responsibility for their words and their actions. Oldman needs to make clear not only to the Jewish community but also his fans that his words were are predicated on offensive notions and, as such, are clearly unacceptable.”

[From Variety]

Ballsy move, ADL. I applaud it! I can’t remember a time when someone this high-profile screwed up and then tried to apologize, and the offended group was like “Too bad, jackass. MORE APOLOGIZING.” Well, I guess something similar happened when Alec Baldwin tried to apologize for his homophobic hate speech and some of the GLAAD people accepted his olive branch, but for the most part, all of the LGBT-rights groups were like “Nope. Not going to happen.”

Also: does anyone else think it’s weird that it’s only the ADL issuing statements about Oldman’s interview? Where is GLAAD? Where is the NAACP? Where are the women’s rights groups decrying Oldman for defending Mel Gibson? The Advocate noted in their coverage that Oldman didn’t even mention an apology for his homophobic remarks, but that’s about it.

Oh, and Gary must have hired a crisis manager because he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and this apology was so much better:

Photos courtesy of PR Photos.