11 years after her death, Neil Patrick Harris apologises for mocking Amy Winehouse

Los Angeles, May 17 (IANS): Reacting to the criticism of a resurfaced image from a Halloween party he hosted back in 2011, which included a buffet platter made to look like the corpse of Amy Winehouse, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and ‘Gone Girl’s star Neil Patrick Harris has apologised for his actions in the past, reports ‘Variety’.

Winehouse, a genre-defining jazz vocalist and songwriter, died on July 23, 2011 at the age of 27. As per ‘Variety’, a few months later, Harris and his husband, David Burtka, hosted a party with a platter that featured a gruesome fake corpse with a cigarette hanging out of its mouth alongside a note that read, “The Corpse of Amy Winehouse.” Below that, the note detailed what was included in the platter: “Beef ribs, pulled pork, chicken sausage in a spicy BBQ sauce.”

On Monday, Harris wrote in a statement to ‘Entertainment Weekly’ that the act was “regrettable then, and it remains regrettable now. A photo recently resurfaced from a Halloween-themed party my husband and I hosted 11 years ago.”

“Amy Winehouse was a once-in-a-generation talent, and I’m sorry for any hurt this image caused”, the statement further read.

The image, and the story surrounding it, resurfaced online last week eleven years after the incident. As per ‘Variety’, writer Ashley Reese’s tweet, which read, “I cannot believe how many very online people over the age of 25 are just now finding out about Neil Patrick Harris’s disgusting Amy Winehouse cake”, led to the image gaining ground on social media following which Neil issued an apology.

Twitter users responded vehemently, retweeting Reese and sharing their own opinions of the platter, which some called “disturbing” and “cruel.”