Sophie Ellis-Bextor has publicly apologized to Robbie Williams for past ‘cruelty’ after a clip of her surfaced in his recent Netflix documentary.
She spoke about the clip in a new Instagram post on Sunday evening and expressed her deep regret.
The clip from Robbie’s Netflix documentary shows Sophie being asked about Robbie during an interview with Jo Wiley. She says: ‘I don’t think he has any charm, why people embrace him, I find it baffling and it actually makes me a bit sad.’
Jo then says, “His voice isn’t great.”
The feud between Sophie and Robbie started when the then 19-year-old Sophie turned down a support slot on Robbie’s first solo tour, calling him ‘a dork’ and ‘a prat’. Robbie responded by describing her as having “a face like a satellite dish and my grandmother’s ankles.”
The Murder on the Dancefloor hitmaker has now revealed how she sent Robbie an apology note a few years ago. In the video message shared on Sunday, Sophie explained that she and Robbie have since become friends and even collaborated on music.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘In 1998 at the age of 19 I was very rude to @robbiewilliams and the clip of me being horrible was included in his brilliant Netflix documentary.
Contrition: Sophie Ellis-Bextor has publicly apologized to Robbie Williams for past ‘cruelty’ after a clip of her surfaced in his recent Netflix documentary
Opening: In a clip she posted on Instagram, she expressed her deep regret and revealed how she had previously sent Robbie an apology note a few years ago
“I didn’t need to see it again to feel bad.” I’ve felt really crappy about the way I spoke for the 25 years since I said it.
“I thought it was smart to be a gobby at the time, but it wasn’t cool then and it’s even worse to see it now. Not proud. Not how I raise my children.
‘That said, I wanted to reach out and apologize, so a few years ago I found an address for Robbie and wrote him a note to say how sorry I was. He was very kind and forgiving.”
She added: “We met last summer and I spent time with him, his wonderful wife. @aydafieldwilliams and his beautiful children.
‘It was wonderful to be able to become friends and we have now made a number of songs together. I suppose the moral of this story, as always, is: be kind. To own your mistakes. And if you’re ever cruel, make sure it’s not filmed, because it’s damn cruel to see me with a sharp tongue after all these years!’
The singer concluded: Yes. Xx ps – watch the documentary. It is awesome. Pps – as you probably gathered from the video, Mickey’s hoodie is completely ruined’.
Fans rushed to Sophie’s comments section to show their support and congratulate her for admitting her mistake on Sunday.
One wrote: ‘What a life if we never made mistakes. We’ve all said and done crazy things and in the grand scheme of things, many people have done much worse than this. No one has to bear an excessive burden of debt. That’s life!’
Honest: Sophie revealed how she’s felt bad about the comments for 25 years and urged people to own your mistakes and be kind
Nice guy: After receiving Sophie’s note apologizing, Robbie felt sorry for being very kind and forgiving
Icon: Robbie’s Netflix series coincides with the 25th anniversary of his solo career and provides a glimpse into his never-before-seen 30-year personal archive
Looking back: Robbie (pictured in 1998), 49, tells the story of his 25-year career in showbusiness in the programme, from leaving Take That in 1995 to his struggles with his mental health
It’s OK: Fans rushed to Sophie’s comments section to show their support as she acknowledged her mistake and agreed that everyone makes this mistake
Everything’s going well: In the video, Sophie also mentioned that she and Robbie have since become friends and have even collaborated to make some songs together
A second wrote: ‘You acknowledged it. You apologized. Well done for accepting, giving in and glad you and Robbie are doing well, not everyone is ‘unlucky’ to be caught on camera saying horrible things to people who remember those people for a long time.
‘I’m sure there is someone we can all say ‘sorry’ to. Own it, move on and do better in the future’.
Make-up artist and judge on BBC’s Glow Up Dominic Skinner said: ‘There isn’t one person in the world who can say they haven’t said things they regret when they were 19! I love that you own this. However, if people can’t look and think ‘oh, that’s a 19 year old being 19’ then it says more about them now than it did about you then! Sending you love.”
The four-part series received mixed reviews, but also contained many explosive revelations.
He talks in depth about his battle with drink and drug addiction, revealing that his life ‘screwed so seriously out of control’ after he drank a bottle of vodka every night before heading to Take That rehearsals.