Matilda Green has penned a written apology for racist jokes she and husband Art made in a recently resurfaced interview with Anika Moa from 2018.
The reality TV couple cracked jokes about brownface, blackface and yellowface when reminded of a 2015 celebrity party in which Art darkened his skin and dressed in an Indian outfit.
Both Matilda and Art addressed the incident on their Instagram Story videos after a TikTok clip of the moment went viral on social media, but some social media commentators didn't consider their apologies genuine. Matilda in particular copped backlash for initially forgetting to include the word 'sorry'.
In a new Instagram post, Matilda wrote that she was "so deeply sorry" for any hurt caused by her and Art's actions.
"The last thing I would ever want is for someone to be hurt by something I have said or done," she wrote.
Matilda explained that she apologised on her Instagram Story because she wanted to address the issue as soon as it came up, and to "speak naturally instead of crafting some sort of statement".
"I didn't want anyone to think I didn't care even for one second. But in hindsight, for something so serious, I understand it is worth taking the time to put together the right words so that nothing is missed and the intent is shown."
Including a link to an anti-racism online resource, Matilda wrote: "Racism is never OK, in any form", adding that she was "committed to listening and learning".
"To reiterate: We shouldn't have done what we did, we shouldn't have said what we did. We were ignorant and coming from a place of privilege and we get that now."
Matilda insisted that if she and Art were in the same circumstances today, they would "behave very differently".
The former Bachelor star said she considered turning the comments off on her latest post, citing the "awful abuse" her family had received since the 2018 interview came to light.
"However I am a grown woman and I know when I've made a mistake," she said, asking commenters to keep the discourse on her post respectful.
