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Penn Jillette Is Really, REALLY Sorry He Insulted Newfoundlanders

He pretty much went full Canadian with the 'I'm sorry's.

A proper apology generally means that, when you say you're sorry, you mean it. You don't make excuses, you don't say "I'm sorry if you were offended." You buck up, take responsibility for what you've done, and you deliver a heartfelt and sincere "I'm sorry."

And if you're apologizing to Canadians, who are known worldwide for their ability to express remorse, you'd better get it right, especially if you insult them.

Just ask celebrity magician Penn Jillette, who has been 'mea culpa'-ing left right and centre today after Newfoundlanders took him to task for insulting their intelligence on a talk show Friday night.

Jillette, half of the comedic magic duo "Penn & Teller," talked about his Newfoundland roots during an appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" that aired Friday night.

"I'm probably from Newfoundland, which is just a euphemism for stupid," Jillette told the host. "All of those people up in the frozen North that club seals, those are my people."

Not surprisingly, Newfoundlanders and other Canadians were not impressed, and told Jillette so in no uncertain (but still mostly polite, because Canadian) terms:

@pennjillette Newfoundlanders are not stupid, quite the opposite.. You have an open invitation to visit sometime.great things happening here

— Greg Hawco (@greghawco) August 19, 2017

Huh? Not funny. @pennjillette takes blatant cheap shot @ friendly Newfoundlanders who went out of their way to help #USA during 911 #cdnpoli

— Andrew Holland (@Andrew__Holland) August 19, 2017

Like we said, mostly polite: Jillette's apology didn't satisfy comedian Mark Critch, a native Newfoundlander, who said on Twitter that until the magician learns about his heritage, he should act like his famously-silent partner Teller and "shut it."

And so, the performer did not hesitate to fall on his sword and apologize Saturday to the people of Newfoundland:

Again:

And again:

And again:

And again:

And again, to everyone this time:

Luckily, Newfoundlanders responded with grace and good humour, and gave Jillette a pass:

Now that didn't take any magic, did it? Just a little heart to stick the landing. We Canadians appreciate that, you know.

With files from The Canadian Press

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