JK Rowling's Lament: Apologies of the Week

A Weasley twin reference and some ill-advised PR moves are among the public apologies of the week:

• Author's regret: "Today I would just like to say: I'm really sorry about Fred. *Bows head in acceptance of your reasonable ire*"—JK Rowling, in a tweet today, referring to the death of Fred Weasley, on the 17th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.
• Cheers: "It’s clear that this particular message missed the mark, and we apologize."—Bud Light, after pulling a slogan seen as tone deaf: "The perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night."
• Unsportsmanlike: "Our Tweet earlier was in very poor taste & not indicative of the respect we have for the @dallasmavs & their fans. We sincerely apologize."—Houston Rockets, after the team's (now former) social media manager tweeted, "Shhhhh. Just close your eyes. It will be all over soon," along with an image of a gun to a horse's head, as the Rockets were eliminating Dallas from the playoffs.

• Hotel politics: "I sincerely apologize for hurting the gay community and so many of our friends, family, allies, customers and employees."—Ian Reisner, gay New York hotelier, after hosting an event for gay-marriage opponent Ted Cruz.
• Actually not an apology: "I wanted to clarify my comments on 'thugs.' When you speak out of frustration and anger, one can say things in a way that you don't mean. That night we saw misguided young people who need to be held accountable, but who also need support. And my comments then didn't convey that."—Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, in a pair of tweets widely interpreted as an apology after she referred to protesters as "thugs."

(More apology stories.)