George Takei Apologizes Over 'Blackface' Insult

George Takei is taking another crack at explaining his description of Clarence Thomas as a "clown in blackface," and this time, instead of defending the insult, he starts thusly: "I owe an apology." The Star Trek actor has posted a Facebook update to apologize for the slam, reports Mediaite. "My choice of words was regrettable, not because I do not believe Justice Thomas is deeply wrong, but because they were ad hominem and uncivil, and for that I am sorry," he writes. The background: The gay actor, still "seething" over Thomas' dissent in the gay-marriage ruling, used the "clown in blackface" slam to blast his logic and to assert that Thomas had abandoned his own African-American heritage.

Thomas made him livid "by suggesting that the government cannot take away human dignity through slavery, or though internment," writes Takei. "In my mind that suggested that this meant he felt the government therefore shouldn’t be held accountable, or should do nothing in the face of gross violations of dignity." Takei is a survivor of the Japanese internment in this country during World War II and says the topic "really got under my skin." But he now acknowledges that the words he used in anger were wrong. "I did not live up to my own high standards in this instance." Click to read his full apology. (More George Takei stories.)