Jan 26, 2013

Posted | 59 Comments

Outtakes Online: Caan apologizes for comments

BY MIKE GORDON / mgordon@staradvertiser.com

“Hawaii Five-0” star Scott Caan said he’s sorry for the derogatory comments about Hawaii that he made on national television Thursday, Jan. 24.

<em>Scott Caan. (Courtesy CBS)</em>

Scott Caan. (Courtesy CBS)

He sent me an email today through his spokeswoman, who said he was unavailable Friday, Jan. 25, to address the public outcry that followed his appearance on E!’s “Chelsea Lately.”

Caan, a Golden Globe nominee for his role as Danny “Danno” Williams on “Five-0,” said he didn’t like living in Hawaii, there’s “a lot of crystal meth” here and that the food “sucks.”

But today in an email, he apologized.

“I am truly sorry for my comments made on ‘Chelsea Lately,’” Caan said in his message. “Jokes are always a part of late night talk shows, but I’m horrified if I hurt or offended anyone, as that was not my intention. I love Hawaii, I love the people of Hawaii and I apologize.”

Cann’s comments during the late night interview were often in response to leading questions by Handler. But he was nonetheless critical of the pace of island living.

“Everything is very slow-motion,” he told Handler on her show. “I pick up the cup and they … slowly pick up the cup. Everything is too relaxed for me. I like to hustle and there is no hustle there.”
———
Mike Gordon covers film and television in Hawaii for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Email him at mgordon@staradvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his weekly “Outtakes” column Sundays in the Star-Advertiser.

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  • http://twitter.com/marthajsmith Martha’s Life

    That just means he’s likes things faster paced but that doesn’t imply that he hates Hawaii. Most of his answers were to leading questions and they were sarcastic and flippant not really serious. I can’t stand this women, she is an instigator of trouble and she knows exactly what she is doing. The only thing Scot is really guilty of is be naivete. He should have never trusted her.

    • RC

      Chelsea: “She gets to live in Hawaii now, you like that right?”
      Scott: “No, I don’t and she doesn’t either”

      He said it loud and clear that he doesn’t like Hawaii.

      • http://twitter.com/DannoLovesYou JessicaB

        ‘Everything is too relaxed for me. I like to hustle and there’s no hustle there, everything is too relaxed. And I like Hawaii as a place but for about 6 days at a time.’

        Same Interview. And unlike with the above words, this time there wasn’t laughter following.

        You’ve to watch the whole interview & that you took this quote tells me you didn’t.

        • RC

          i did watch the whole interview.. so you’re saying just because there was laughter involved he didn’t mean it?? common! that’s the very first thing that came out of his mouth about hawaii… I could care less if he likes it or not, our lifestyle isn’t for everyone. MARTHA’S LIFE said “he doesn’t imply that he hates hawaii”, which he does.

          • http://twitter.com/DannoLovesYou JessicaB

            no I don’t say that, but it’s unfair to only post the part that underlines your argument.

            And no he doesn’t imply he hates Hawaii. On several occasions (both live & written) he said that he likes Hawaii, just not the pace. That and all the good he did and will keep on doing for your community & especially for people who are so much less fortunate, gets forgotten because of a stupid, spectacular Headline & a cropped Video. They COULD’ve posted the whole Video first & COULD’ve left out such a headline. They chose not to. They baited people for their own popularity & quite frankly that’s the real shame.

            Don’t get me wrong, I understand upset, but I don’t understand hate that had been brought on innocent people. People btw. who never said & won’t say anything bad about Hawaii. I’ve been to Hawaii, loved it there, love the people I met and treasure knowing them and my experience on Hawaii.

            All I say is, the hate that Headline caused is not warranted.

          • http://www.facebook.com/glenn.naeole Glenn K. Naeole

            That’s because you don’t understand the people of Hawai’i, this man makes his living from a show based on the peolpe and culture of our state. Coming to hawai’i for a visit and then going back home is different then profiting from it. He doesn’t have to love Hawai’i or even like it, but he should show a bit of restraint and respect towards the hand that feeds you.

          • D.WRONG

            What good exactly did he do as you put it? What did he do that was good
            for our “community” and for the” less fortunate” as you put it??? Please
            elaborate. As for someone only posting the parts that underline their
            arguments, isnt that that whole point, to state what parts underline
            your argument? If not there wouldnt be an argument…? There was a lot
            that was implied and there was clearly a lot that was said very clear.
            He dont like living here for what ever his reasons! The food sucks! and
            the statement with her about drugs! Everyone is entitled to their
            opinion and everyone in the world will make statements that are not so
            agreeable and excepting to others views on the same subject but in the
            end it comes down to …If you dont like it then GO HOME!!! MAKES
            EVERYBODY HAPPY…

          • RC

            amene!

          • http://twitter.com/DannoLovesYou JessicaB
          • RC

            thanks for clarifying that, but i’m not the one who wanted to know this information… maybe you should link it to D.WRONG.

            I don’t owe anyone an apology.. I didn’t make any death threats or racial comments. I love “respectful” haoles just like i love “respectful” locals, and vice versa.

            My whole deal was to try and defend hawaii and it’s people. I know a lot of nasty things were said about haoles by locals because of this situation… but there were also a lot of nasty things said about locals by haoles. Either way it’s messed up. I’m not condoning any of this behavior, but not gonna lie, some locals are born thinking haole = bad… i was. You learn terms like “fuckin haole” or “go back to the mainland”… But as I grew up, I grew out of that mind set. Over the years locals are a lot more accepting. As long as Scott stays in the city and doesn’t wander off into the country, he’ll be okay (kind of like the mainland right?).

          • http://twitter.com/DannoLovesYou JessicaB

            yikes, I’m sorry. I did intend to answer D.Wrong. I hope though he saw I answered him, because I don’t wanna look like an overachiever and post it twice, lol.

            Or maybe Mike can move my answer one step up?

            To answer you though, yes, right now it’s messed up. Like with any other topic there are actions, reactions, overreactions and all that’s part of who we are just by being humans.

            Part of being human thankfully also means forgiveness is just around the corner, if chosen to give it, instead of keeping the fire burning.

            I hope for the first for all involved.

  • http://twitter.com/bookemdanno_net bookemdanno.net

    The whole thing was blown way out of proportion. I’m sorry he felt the need to apologize for having an opinion. I wonder if the people of Hawaii have any plans to apologize to him and the fans and fansites they attacked. Their comments were FAR worse than Scott saying he thought the food sucked.

    • RC

      You wouldn’t understand our side unless you were from here. Him and his fans don’t deserve death threats.. but as a celebrity he has to see these kinds of things coming before he opens his mouth. I respect that he doesn’t like Hawaii, but it’s they way he said it. He just seems very unappreciative. Other than surfing, I’m sure the people of Hawaii have been nothing but gracious to him. The surfing world is a whole different story… I don’t surf so I wouldn’t know. As for the food, brother is eating at the wrong places. We have pretty much every thing the mainland has plus our own cultural foods. I think many locals were offended by that comment because food is a big part of our culture.

      • http://twitter.com/bookemdanno_net bookemdanno.net

        You’re right. I’m not from Hawaii and I have never been there. But I do have a lot of pride in the city/state where I do live. And maybe I have a thicker skin than some but even imagining that he was talking about my home, I didn’t see what was so offensive. Definitely didn’t see what was so offensive that people resorted to death threats, racial slurs, and threatening fans/fansites.

        To write rude and nasty emails/messages directed at people who had absolutely nothing to do with the situation (fansite owners like me) was completely uncalled for. Just because I’m a fan of Scott’s doesn’t mean that I agree or like everything he does. And just because I’m a fan of Scott doesn’t give anyone the right to email me and threaten my life and family because they didn’t like something HE said.

        I’m sure that 99.9% of Hawaiians are awesome, wonderful, loving people. But the reactions and behavior I witnessed because of this have been far more dissuasive to me ever wanting to visit Hawaii than his comments about the food sucking and the glib comment about there being a lot of meth – because let’s face it, what state doesn’t have a meth issue right now?

        • RC

          I totally agree with every thing you just wrote… he and his fans definitely don’t deserve death threat and hate mail. Hawaii is an awesome place, hopefully one day you’ll get to experience and judge it yourself.

    • Ryen

      That’s how it goes in the islands,,,you will be balled,and mauled,,there’s no were to hide ,no were to go ….everybody knows..u da rat…

  • mary tomshack

    Yes, I totally agree both of you. I hope the people of Hawaii can accept this heartfelt apology and just move on.

  • http://limemediahawaii.com/ AniMatsuri

    From what was reported by Joe Moore on KHON, Caan says stuff like that all time. The talk show host couldn’t lead him on if she didn’t know where the questions were going to take them.
    I think he’s wise to be in hiding for a few weeks until this blows over.

  • Chow

    I was more concerned with the tone he used in answering the questions. But he also has a choice. Quit and leave Hawaii since he doesn’t like it but he didn’t. It comes with the territory and whatever comments he makes will come to haunt him. If I jokingly said hitler was an incredible leader then people will attack me as anti Semitic. You just need to be aware of what you say and how you say it. That’s how politicians wiggle their way out lol.

  • http://twitter.com/DannoLovesYou JessicaB

    I agree with Martha, Mary & bookemdanno net. A lot of apologizes are needed especially towards those that ran fansites & by no means from Scott. He never attacked anyone personally, the other way around sadly is not true. Fans got hatemails solely based on a Headline that entirely blew an Interview out of proportions that should have been fun & not been taken seriously. I too hope things will calm down now.

  • billywest

    For those of you who spouting off about opinion. Yes it was his opinion. We get that. That doesn’t mean that his opinion MUST be liked by everybody and coming from this guy’s mouth he says things that offend people on the regular. He acted in such a way that it was inappropriate even though it was his opinion he could have said it a different way. He didn’t so now this is the outcome. Pretty straightforward if you ask me. Yes, I believe that this is blown out of proportion. Does that surprise you? Things get blown out of proportion every day ESPECIALLY in the media. I understand a lot of you folks love this guy. For what reason I don’t know. He obviously didn’t offend you, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t offend a lot of other people, which he obviously did. Since he had to go and write an apology and everything. How do you know it was even heartfelt? It was an email for crying out loud. Usually if someone has to apologize that means they did something wrong. It wasn’t his opinion that was wrong, but the way he went about it was. Dude made his bed now he must sleep in it.

  • Anonymous

    The comments on here defending Caan are incredible. The people of Hawaii apologizing to Scott Caan and the fansites? Get real! If he really loved Hawaii and it’s people as he says in his “apology” he would have backed us up when she made her idiotic comments. Not stab us in the back….

    • http://twitter.com/DannoLovesYou JessicaB

      Fansites and their admins have been attacked for no reason. And the attacks were vicious. Death threats have been made towards Scott Caan. All because of an opinion. It’s okay to be upset about an opinion, even to dislike it or dislike the person. But this kind of hate was uncalled for. So yes, more than one side made a fault, so it’s only right to start apologizing to those who didn’t deserve such vicious attacks.

      • D.WRONG

        The way I look at it is simple. Everybody always runs when the fire is up and flaming trying to do what we can to put it out. Heres the thing. If he never started the fire in the first place then there wouldnt be a fire and people to fuel the fire or others worried on how to put it out. Everyone in this world will say and do things that others dont agree with however, you need to think before you make a choice, how that choice is going to affect you and others and then now you deal with your choice. There are somethings that like they say “ARE BETTER LEFT UNSAID”. If anyone said that “black people suck”…omg can you imagine the outcry? Well thats the same thing, its someones opinion but it should have not been said. Sometimes we should PAA KA WAHA!

  • Hate Hawaii

    Everything he said about Hawaii is true.. the pace though is not slow– it is too fast, too competitive and full of envy and hate.. the word aloha has been perverted to mean sex, illicit sex,.. and the busting up of marriages by Asian women coming in and giving other Asians a bad name.. Yes, it is impossible to find a decent meal on the run… Wailae Ave restuarants come adn go… Waikki food is awful and for tourists… the traffic is horrendous.. some of us Kamainas have had to leave because it has gotten so horrible.. UH has lost its moral compass.. just look at their higher admins. As soon as a chancellor of vice chancellor comes in some local woman busts up their marriage; their faculty are many times divorced over.. the island is taken over by Asian settlers coming in from countries like China and Korea with no moral values, just plain materialistic grab and go… all Hawaii wants to do is cater to the toursits as a sex pot! the beauty of the islands is totally corrupted…

    • http://www.facebook.com/dee.queed Dee Queed

      Great, a supposed kamaaina who can’t spell kamaaina. Or Waialae Avenue. And who apparently has yet to get over losing her husband to an Asian woman. I-S-S-U-E-S.

      • Ryen

        Deed Queed ,,,I feel u,,poor thing this lady …I’ll pray for her…so she’ll learn to spell…Lmao…

    • RC

      Haha! You are so stupid! Hawaii is nothing like that.. you obviously weren’t born and raised here!

  • Nathan Algren

    IT’S TRUE WHAT CAAN SAID! Hawaii can’t accept it.

    • RC

      We do accept people who are respectful to us and our culture. Mainlanders need to educate themselves about Hawaii’s history before coming here. It’ll make a big difference on how they act when they come to Hawaii. People here are very laid back and easy going unless you act “tantaran” (stuck up). I was born and raised here and I have A LOT of haole friends so please don’t judge unless you’ve met every single person here! Hawaii is an island and a lot closer than any other state out there, so to hear them put us down it kind of hurts because we know we’re not all like that.

  • Anonymous

    If he doesn’t like Hawaii he needs to go back to bankrupt, corrupt California. We have enough pollution here on our islands to deal with and he leaves a negative footprint.

  • Bernard

    I grew up in Hawaii and the pace is really slow he isn’t wrong about that. It so happens that I like it that way. But when it comes to art and music culture, yeah it’s kind of behind. As far as meth, are you going argue that it isn’t everywhere? Cause it is. As far as the food though… dead wrong.

    • RC

      Yes, there is a meth problem, but not to the point where a driver would offer it to her. I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve never seen the drug and I don’t know a single person doing it… so it can’t be as bad as they’re making it sound.

      • Bernard

        I work at night and see users relatively often. I also see drug deals go down. I don’t see people actually using it because they at least try to be low key about that. I found some on the ground once, outside of McKinley high school. Some passing tweaker probably dropped it.

        • RC

          well i guess it depends on where you live.. like every other state in america!!!

          • Bernard

            Yes, though I see meth across the island of Oahu. I knew a meth head on Maui when I was going to Maui Community College. But I didn’t get around much, but I bet they’re out there in Kihe. I lived in SF and the problem wasn’t so obvious, but it is pretty bad around parts of Portland, OR from what I’ve seen out there.

            Trust me, meth is a big problem for Hawaii. We were talking about it a lot even i nthe early 90s and it hasn’t slowed down, only grown.

    • Nathan Algren

      @disqus_Ta3d4wF0IT:disqus : AGREED! @RC: Wake dude! The hell!

  • Leah

    I’m sure that it wasn’t his intention to hurt the ppl from Hawaii. He apologized and now things should go back to normal for everyone. Aloha

  • Anonymous

    you know, used to be we could all take a joke… jeez should we all get hyperbolic (sic) over every dang thing? ganfunnit, chill already!!!

  • Anonymous

    Chelsea Lately is a comedy show and it doesn’t hold back on opinions and say things in jest. People are too sensitive even on trivial matters. He didn’t even have to apologist for his comments either. Hawaii does have a crystal meth problem and life does go slower. One man’s paradise is another man’s hell.

    • billywest

      I don’t disagree with what you’re saying and I don’t disagree with a lot of local Hawaii residents who also are saying he didn’t do anything wrong and those that were abused and weren’t technically involved Overall, people should get over it, however, my opinion is if you were aware of anything Hawaii had and has been going through even a recent example of Bill O’Reily months ago, you can see and would know how Hawaii is sensitive to allegations being brought forth. METH is a problem for Hawaii and all around the United States. We are an island and there was much more METH going around a long time ago compared to now in this area. On top of that, WHEW, he is basically bringing down the show’s popularity from quite a while ago and now it’s obvious he wants out of his job. Give him the satisfaction of unemployment I say. Coming from a simpleton Hawaii resident with “no hustle.” If you have been here and experienced negativity then I am sorry but you have a grudge. Not just with Hawaii but with life. This is and island unforgiving mind you. Please understand we are a very sensitive culture but we are forgiving in the end. Other people need to open their love to us we are not just savages.

  • lizzy

    love Scott caan everyone is human and we all make mistakes at the end of the day we all say things without thinking sometimes its just his just happened to be on TV he said he was sorry so let the man get on whit his life and except that he is sorry and move on please

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruby-Jones/100003205514101 Ruby Jones

    Obviously he like the big city life style and he has the $$$ to go to the many great but too expensive restaurants and clubs in L.A. and NYC. As an actor he is clearly a one trick pony but he is good at what he does.

  • D.WRONG

    HOW INSINCERE SENDING AN “EMAIL” AND NOT THROUGH HIMSELF, BUT THROUGH HIS “SPOKESWOMAN” WHICH IS JUST ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING, THIS WILL SCREW WITH HIS POPULARITY, RATINGS AND POSSIBLY THE SHOW AND NOW HE NEEDS SOMEONE TO ACCESS THE SITUATION AND CLEAN IT UP FOR HIM, HENCE THE SPOKESWOMAN…ALSO HOW CAN HE SAY IN HIS “SAVE MY BUTT” EMAIL THAT “I LOVE HAWAII”? THATS NOT WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER! GO HOME!!! NEXT TIME YOU PADDLE OUT CHECK WITH THE HUI….HAHAHAHA

  • http://twitter.com/LauraCushman Laura Cushman

    It’s so sad that this man is forced to lower his living standards because of his work. I hope his show gets cancelled so he can get back to living in the way he is accustomed.

  • D.WRONG

    The
    way I look at it is simple. Everybody always runs when the fire is up
    and flaming trying to do what we can to put it out. Heres the thing. If
    he never started the fire in the first place then there wouldnt be a
    fire and people to fuel the fire or others worried on how to put it out.
    Everyone in this world will say and do things that others dont agree
    with however, you need to think before you make a choice, how that
    choice is going to affect you and others and then now you deal with your
    choice. There are somethings that like they say “ARE BETTER LEFT
    UNSAID”. If anyone said that “black people suck”…omg can you imagine
    the outcry? Well thats the same thing, its someones opinion but it
    should have not been said. Sometimes we should PAA KA WAHA!

  • http://twitter.com/ShilohSwanson Shiloh Swanson

    Kill him with Aloha!

    & get over it.
    Stop crying that not everyone wants to live here and hopefully his next interview about Hawaii will be more gracious or at least diplomatic.

  • in hawaii

    I live in Hawaii and can say that it is S…L….O…..W…..paced here….I really love the speed of life and living and the ALOHA time is sometimes painful…especially when it comes to road construction or anything that needs completion. I LOVE the people…love the lifestyle they live…just not for professional things…to be told it is a cultural thing when things are not done on time….it is hard to get used to….

    • in hawaii

      I LOVE the show, love all they do here in connection with the show….they do appearances for charity and the islands have gotten a lot of attention (which has helped with the dragging tourism issues)…..I think he and the cast is amazing. People here seem to call party foul on others…yet let their heisman runner up slide by as a good person…

      • RC

        That’s two totally different situations. Manti never bad mouthed Hawaii, he just screwed himself over… and trust me, there are A LOT of locals that turned their backs on him after his situation.. so he did “slide by”… so sad!

  • OAKLY-SUNGLASSES

    who cares what some haole from malibu has to say? go back to surfing your c list waves you b list celeb. I’m calling that his character is killed off in the next 2 seasons

  • Really?

    To all you defenders: Let’s go to your house and insult your food and the way your family lives. Then imitate how you fast you pick up the coffee cup to make you look ridiculous for your “fast paced” lifestyle. Then…TELL you to respect my opinion. Really?! Where’s your manners? Would you like to stay friends with someone like that? At least his dad would have been more classy and kept it to himself or used words that were not as hurtful. This has nothing to do with having tougher skin. Simply put, he needs to learn manners when he is here, just as much as us going to the mainland and respecting their own culture and lifestyle. I don’t like potatoes when I lived there and looked for places that sold rice. How careless would I be though if I told the many families I shared meals with that their food sucks and their lifestyle is not like mine. Yeah, we have aloha here and try to demonstrate it when we can, but aloha also doesn’t mean to sit back while people insult us and pretend it is alright to respect your opinion. Scott….your fan base has been insulted by you on national tv. I hope you enjoy the money that you make from our sucky food and laid back lifestyle!

    • Nathan Algren

      Coping skills?

  • SW

    Oh come on, this really is not the end of the world. He doesn’t have to love living there, and it’s not an insult to the people who do, it’s just that it’s not for him. What’s so wrong with that? It’s just like anyone that has moved anywhere for a job. Maybe you get there are realize you don’t like the place, but it doesn’t mean you don’t like the people that live there, which is a BIG difference.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Craig-N-Tanaka/100001294824754 Craig N Tanaka

    Probably the producers got on his case and told him “What are you doing? Now go apologize!” Lot of actors who would love to be on Hawaii 5-0 are in line……

  • Anonymous

    I’ve lived in Hawaii before for an extended period, and I don’t see that he said anything offensive for which he would need to apologize. The pace can be excrutiatingly

  • http://twitter.com/Danielle_Artist Danielle Halford

    Okay I don’t get what the big deal is. He likes hustle and it’s laid back here. Is there a Meth problem on Oahu? Sadly, yes. As for the food sucking he must not know where to go eat. No one place is the right place for everyone.

  • Nathan Algren

    GOING TO SAY THIS AGAIN! It’s the freak-in truth, so deal with it. Stop pretending and start partaking in a solution…

  • Guy in Mikes Class

    y’all need to go outside or something.