Neil Patrick Harris Apologizes for Mocking Amy Winehouse After Her Death
variety.comSasha Urban editorNeil Patrick Harris responded to criticism of a resurfaced image from a Halloween party he hosted 11 years ago, which included a buffet platter made to look like the corpse Amy Winehouse.Winehouse, a genre-defining jazz vocalist and songwriter, died on July 23, 2011 at the age of 27.
A few months later, Harris and his husband, David Burtka, hosted a party with a platter that featured a gruesome fake corpse with a cigarette hanging out of its mouth alongside a note that read, “The Corpse of Amy Winehouse.” Below that, the note detailed what was included in the platter: “Beef ribs, pulled pork, chicken sausage in a spicy BBQ sauce.”On Monday, Harris wrote in a statement to Entertainment Weekly that the act was “regrettable then, and it remains regrettable now.” “A photo recently resurfaced from a Halloween-themed party my husband and I hosted 11 years ago,” Harris said. “Amy Winehouse was a once-in-a-generation talent, and I’m sorry for any hurt this image caused.”The image, and the story surrounding it, resurfaced online last week after writer Ashley Reese tweeted, “I cannot believe how many very online people over the age of 25 are just now finding out about Neil Patrick Harris’s disgusting Amy Winehouse cake.” Twitter users responded vehemently, retweeting Reese and sharing their own opinions of the platter, which some called “disturbing” and “cruel.”The original image was first posted — and since deleted —on Twitter by Justin Mikita, husband of “Modern Family” actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
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