The Oscars 'In Memoriam' video, commemorating people who died in the last year, did not include Farrah Fawcett (though it did feature Michael Jackson). People were upset, including her family. Here's the most non-apology apology ever.

According to the BBC Fawcett's family were "deeply saddened" and "bereft" at the omission. The Academy's Executive Director, Bruce Davis, said that they'd considered putting Fawcett in, but she was more famous for her TV work and "an unusual number of extremely distinguished screenwriters" had died this year so there was no time. Defending Jackson's inclusion, he said, had recently appeared in a popular movie. By which he probably means This Is It, which was a documentary about his singing. But anyway.

"There's nothing you can say to people, particularly to family members, within a day or two of the show that helps at all," he said. "They tend to be surprised and hurt, and we understand that and we're sorry for it." Which is the equivalent of the classic 'I'm sorry I upset you' as a substitute for actually apologizing. We thought the above, wildly disconcerting, image was appropriate in these circumstances.

[Pic via]