Published: March 4, 2010

Guess which celebrity said, “my dick is sort of like a white supremacist,” and, “someone asked me the other day, ‘What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?’ And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a n**** pass.” That’s right, it’s John Mayer. Don’t you have those days when you wish life came with a redo button? Well take one of those days and multiply it by a million and you get John Mayer’s life right now.

Mayer’s recent interview with Playboy has sparked much controversy in the past few weeks. For those of you who haven’t read what Mayer said, let’s recap. One of the more offensive and cringe-worthy statements to come out of Mayer’s mouth was his description of Jessica Simpson as sexual napalm. But the two quotes mentioned above turned out to be the worst case of word vomit.

This time John Mayer dug himself a very deep grave. He managed to be racist and sexist in one interview—quite an accomplishment. Why did he think this would sound or come off as clever and funny? It’s lovely to see that John still has the mind of a middle schooler by showcasing his tasteless jokes. Last time I checked, John Mayer’s job description was musician, not comedian. Next time leave the jokes up to the professionals, John.

What is equally surprising is that some celebrities are forgiving of Mayer’s remarks. MTV interviewed Russel Simmons and Jermaine Dupri, both of whom are forgiving of Mayer. Simmons said, “He’s a nice guy. He don’t know. He didn’t mean anything by it. I give him a pass.” Dupri even admitted that he thought the interview was funny and went on to say, “I personally think he thought he was talking to Playboy and it wasn’t gonna get to the rest of the world. I guess he underestimated his power and how famous he is and people took it the wrong way.” Even if Mayer didn’t mean any harm, it’s still inappropriate. When someone is in the public eye like John Mayer is, there has to be a filter for the things said to the press.

Some celebrities tend to forget that their actions can easily offend the public. John Mayer should be responsible enough to understand this but obviously everyone continues to let him run wild. It is in no way acceptable; he needs to grow up.

I was a fan of Mayer’s, but since the story broke, I haven’t even wanted to listen to his music anymore. He needs to do something to prove he is worthy of having fans, because at this point I would be surprised if he had any left. It’s a disheartening thing to see someone you admire and respect spew disgusting words, thinking it is humorous.

Mayer’s so-called apology seemed staged and inauthentic. Twitter is not the place to apologize for sexist remarks. Pretending to cry on stage at your own concert to win sympathy doesn’t seem quite right either. The video of Mayer’s apology can be found on YouTube—you be the judge. During his Nashville concert, he was seeking the forgiveness of his friends, colleagues and fans. After his lament, he introduced the members of his band and finally introduced himself by saying, “I’m John Mayer and I’m going to figure that out.”

Being in the public eye with people who admire you is a big responsibility. John Mayer made a huge mistake and I think a lot of respect for him has been lost. If his apology had any truth to it, hopefully he will be able to redeem himself. In an interview with People magazine, Holly Robinson Peete, who was mentioned in Mayer’s interview, summed it up beautifully: “It’s time for him to really just drop the frat boy act and take responsibility for everything that he said, no matter how painful it’s going to be for him.” Hopefully he is figuring out who John Mayer is, but in the meantime, he needs to take responsibility for his stupid mouth.