Drake Bell Apologizes To Caitlyn Jenner

Drake Bell is trying to make amends. The former Nickelodeon star got into some hot water earlier this week for allegedly making controversial comments about Caitlyn Jenner and her Vanity Fair "Call Me Caitlyn" cover on Twitter. As you may recall, Bell allegedly tweeted in response, "Sorry... Still calling you Bruce." He later allegedly tried to clarify his comments by saying, "I'm not dissing him! I just don't want to forget his legacy! He is the greatest athlete of all time! Chill out!" The tweets were later deleted, but not before being captured in screenshots. And now, Drake Bell has apologized for the Caitlyn Jenner tweets.

On June 4, Bell tweeted, "I sincerely apologize for my thoughtless insensitive remarks. I in no way meant to hurt or demean those going through a similar journey." He added, "Although my comments were made in innocence, I deeply regret the negative effect they've had on so many."

It is a positive step that Bell has taken it upon himself to apologize for his comments. After all, trans individuals like Caitlyn Jenner often have a difficult journey in life not identifying with the gender they were born with, and presenting as the gender they identify with can often bring on a whole new set of challenges. As the American Psychological Association indicates, calling trans individuals by their preferred names and pronouns is one of the best ways to show support for them in their journeys. So apologizing for not doing so is a step in the right direction for Bell. However, to me, it seems like the actor is a bit too eager to defend himself, which takes away from the apology.

Bell emphasizes that he did not mean to cause any type of harm with his "thoughtless" remarks. While that may be true that he did not want to hurt anyone, intention does not change impact. And the impact is that words can indeed still cause harm. When Bell explains his intentions immediately after apologizing and contends that he made his comments in "innocence," it seems that he is hopping on the defensive rather than acknowledging the true impact of his words.

That being said, it's great that he did apologize. Hopefully Bell will think before he tweets next time and really consider what it is like to walk in another person's shoes before chiming in with commentary. In another encouraging step, the actor replied to a follower who replaced his "innocence" comment with the word "ignorance." And his reply is a good sign of wanting to do things differently the next time around. Let's hope he does!

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