The internet is full of horrors, and many of those horrors are the result of people trying to be funny. Every once in a while, one of these horrors resurfaces and everyone involved will be forced to come to terms with their past asshole behavior. That’s currently happening with actor Neil Patrick Harris, who has now apologized for the stunt he performed at a Halloween party in 2011. At that party, Harris and her husband David Burtka served a meat platter that looked like rotten meat. body of Amy Winehouse, who had just died of alcohol poisoning three months earlier at the age of 27.
Winehouse’s struggles with drug addiction were common knowledge at the time of his death; they were the main narrative that drove his music. Winehouse died at a time when it was considered acceptable to poke fun at deceased celebrities in a way that blamed the stars for their own fate. Even with that in mind, it’s still shocking to look back and see the footage from Harris’ party. The platter in question is made entirely of meat – prime rib, pulled pork, chicken sausage – resembling Winehouse’s rotting body, with his mouth open like a cartoon zombie and his tattoos and beehive hairstyle still intact. If anyone was confused, there’s a helpful sign next to it that says “Amy Winehouse’s corpse”. (Buzzfeed has a photo.)
At the party, actor and producer Justin Mikita attended with his husband, the modern family starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Mikita tweeted a photo from the Winehouse set, writing, “Look who showed up…he looks good.” Last week, a writer, who has since shielded his Twitter account, brought up the story of Winehouse’s corpse meat platter, writing that they “hated [Neil Patrick Harris] since.” The tweet has gone viral, thanks in part to the Buzzfeed story mentioned above. Now Neil Patrick Harris has issued an apology.
In a statement to Weekly entertainment, Harris said: “A photo recently surfaced at a Halloween themed party my husband and I threw 11 years ago. It was unfortunate then, and it remains unfortunate today. Amy Winehouse was a once-in-a-generation talent, and I’m sorry for the hurt this image caused. »
There’s probably a lesson to be learned from this whole saga, but I’m sure no one will actually learn it.