Rupert Murdoch Apologizes for NY Post Cartoon

Leaving A Family Legacy

Will & Jada Smith have no problems with their children following in their footsteps in Hollywood.

Charley Gallay, WireImage

Willow & Jaden have both been cast into their father's movies.

Getty Images

Phillippi Sparks' son might not have carried on the family football tradition of the NFL cornerback. But his daughter found success in another field.

Stan Honda, Getty Images

Jordin Sparks, the winner of the sixth season of American Idol and sang the "National Anthem" for the Super Bowl XLII, which made he dad very proud.

Mark Mainz, FOX / AP

Actor Alan Thicke passed on his good looks to his son, but not the acting gene.

Michael Buckner, Getty Images

While Grammy Award winning singer Robin Thicke does acting on occasion, he actually carries on the legacy of his singer mother Gloria Loring, who co-wrote the theme songs to "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life" with his father.

Retna

A name as cool asCuba Gooding has to be passed down through generations. The elder Cuba Gooding, the lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, has passed on his legacy of entertaining to his two sons.

Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images

In Cuba Gooding, Jr. movie "Radio," there is a scene where he is listening to The Main Ingredient. He's pictured here with his brother Omar.

Gregg DeGuire, WireImage

Basil Patterson a labor lawyer and longtime political leader in New York and Harlem passed the torch to his son, the 55th Governor of New York.

Chris Hondros, Getty Images

Before becoming Governor, David Patterson represented the same Harlem district in the State Senate that his father did.

Spencer Platt, Getty Images

Here's what appeared in the New York Post Tuesday:

As the Chairman of the New York Post, I am ultimately responsible for what is printed in its pages. The buck stops with me. Last week, we made a mistake. We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted. Over the past couple of days, I have spoken to a number of people and I now better understand the hurt this cartoon has caused. At the same time, I have had conversations with Post editors about the situation and I can assure you - without a doubt - that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation. It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such. We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community. Source

Good for Murdoch. This is an effective and decent response to the situation. I am pleased to read that he has spoken with people who offered insight that he then considered.

As I stated earlier, my biggest beef with the cartoon was that it was offensive given that a woman had just had her face and eyes chewed out and the history of the NYPD shooting unarmed people of color. I got the "Obama as chimp" implication, but I think that was unconscious on the writer's part -- not excusable necessarily, but I do not believe that was the intended message.

I do think the appearance of the cartoon and the response to it illustrates not only how different the prisms through which we see the world are, but that people of all colors would rather yell at each other than sit down over a beer and hash it out.

It's hashing time, folks.