Katt Williams clarifies apology on Mexican rant (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Comedian Katt Williams defended remarks he made to a Mexican member of his audience last week that were perceived as xenophobic, telling CNN on Saturday that while he apologizes to anyone who perceived them as hateful to the Mexican-American community, he would not apologize for the comments he made on stage.

"I meant what I said and I said what I meant," Williams said.

Williams stressed that as a comedian he cannot apologize for a performance, drawing a sharp line between what is said on stage and his true feelings.

He added "that's for the Tracy Morgans of the world," in reference to Morgan apologizing for anti-gay remarks he made during a stand-up show in Nashville.

Williams had initially apologized -- or so everyone thought. Instead, Williams said that was an apology written by his publicist, and not his own.

The controversy began when a video was posted online of Williams yelling at an audience member who Williams claims incited the argument by insulting the United States.

Williams soon said to the man, "No, this ain't Mexico. It used to be Mexico and now it's Phoenix."

At various points in the outburst, Williams began chants of "USA! USA! USA!," which some activists perceived as insulting, but Williams defended as patriotism.

"I don't think I need to apologize for being pro-American," Williams said.

These were but a few in a series of comments that activists took offense to, including, "Do you remember when white people used to say 'Go back to Africa,' and we'd have to tell them we don't want to? So if you love Mexico, (expletive), get the (expletive) over there!"

But Williams was quick to express his appreciation of his Mexican fans, noting that they were a key part of his success.

"I couldn't be anti-Mexican. My Mexican fan base is largely responsible or me even existing," Williams said. "Between them and the black community, it's really all I have."

This incident is the latest in a string of public controversies for the comedian.

Just last week he was kicked out of a Young Jeezy concert for his role a brawl, and in June he was arrested for threatening a potential witness after a bizarre stand-off with a tractor driver.

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Piers Morgan seeks apology over phone hacking claim (AFP)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Former British tabloid editor Piers Morgan has demanded an apology from a lawmaker who made claims about him admitting to phone hacking, at the London hearing which quizzed Rupert Murdoch.

In an angry on-air exchange, Morgan, who is now a celebrity interviewer for US television news network CNN, challenged Member of Parliament Louise Mensch to repeat her claim that he had "boasted" of phone hacking in a book about his tabloid editor days.

She declined to do so, saying she had been covered by parliamentary privilege -- which protects her from legal action for anything said inside parliament -- a protection which does not apply if she repeats the words elsewhere.

In the committee hearing which grilled Murdoch and his son James over the phone hacking scandal rocking the tycoon's media empire, Mensch said Morgan had boasted about using a phone hacking "little trick" to win a scoop of the year award.

"That is a former editor of the Daily Mirror being very open about his personal use of phone hacking," she said in the hearing.

But Morgan, a former editor of the Mirror and of Murdoch's now-shuttered News of the World, said he had never claimed to have used phone hacking himself in his 2005 book "The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade."

"I'm amused by her cowardice in refusing to repeat that allegation now that shes not in parliament covered by privilege," Morgan said in the on-air exchange with Mensch, who was in London.

"She came out with an absolute blatant lie during those proceedings. At no stage in my book or indeed outside of my book have I ever boasted of using phone hacking for any stories."

And he added: "For the record, in my time at the Mirror and the News of the World I have never hacked a phone, told anybody to hack a phone or published any story based on the hacking of a phone."

In an increasingly tetchy exchange, during which Mensch said Morgan was a rich man and accused him of threatening her, the former newspaperman added: "I think you should apologize for being a liar."

He repeatedly bashed her for invoking parliamentary privilege and said Mensch should "show some balls" and repeat her claims outside the hearing.

Asking her to produce evidence to back her claim, he said: "If there is no evidence for that, are you going to publicly apologize to me, and to CNN right now for such an outrageous lie?"

"I feel no need whatsoever to apologize," said the lawmaker.

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Armstrong's lawyers want apology from '60 Minutes' (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Attorneys for Lance Armstrong have demanded an on-air apology from "60 Minutes" after the head of Switzerland's anti-doping laboratory denied allegations the seven-time Tour de France winner tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs at the 2001 Tour de Suisse.

In a letter sent Wednesday to CBS News Chairman and "60 Minutes" executive producer Jeff Fager, lawyer Elliot Peters said the May 22 segment about Armstrong was built on a series of falsehoods, and he accused the reputable CBS show of sloppy journalism.

"In the cold light of morning your story was either extraordinarily shoddy, to the point of being reckless and unprofessional, or a vicious hit-and-run job," Peters wrote. "In either case, a categorical on-air apology is required."

CBS News spokesman Kevin Tedesco said Wednesday he couldn't immediately comment on the letter, but added: "We consider this the most thorough investigation into doping in the sport of cycling ever done."

Former teammate Tyler Hamilton alleged in the piece that Armstrong talked about using the banned blood-booster EPO to prepare for his third Tour de France in 2001 and cycling's governing body, the International Cycling Union, helped him hide a positive test at the Swiss event.

Last week, the head of Switzerland's anti-doping laboratory, Martial Saugy, denied allegations Armstrong tested positive for performing-enhancing drugs during the 2001 Tour de Suisse.

Saugy said his lab did find suspicious levels of EPO in four urine samples from the race Armstrong won, but he didn't know if any belonged to the seven-time Tour de France winner.

Armstrong repeatedly has denied doping and has never tested positive. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are investigating an alleged doping program in Armstrong's teams.

"60 Minutes" also reported that the UCI officials brokered a meeting involving Armstrong and Saugy's World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited lab, which tested the Swiss race samples.

Saugy told the Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung last week that he met with Armstrong and then-U.S. Postal team manager Johan Bruyneel, but not in Lausanne as Hamilton claimed and unconnected to a suspicious test result.

Peters added the show's producers were alerted by Armstrong's camp prior to the show's airing that the Swiss-related allegations were false and provided evidence they say refuted them.

"What is particularly disturbing is that '60 Minutes' had access to the true facts, could easily have verified them, and apparently chose instead to broadcast untruths and then layer innuendo on top of the falsehoods," Peters said.

Armstrong has taken several steps to address the allegations made in the "60 Minutes" segment, posting a retort on Twitter, creating a web site — facts4lance.com — and now urging CBS for an apology. Last week, he also announced he was adding Peters and another high-profile attorney, John Keker, to his legal team.

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Armstrong's lawyers want apology from '60 Minutes' (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Attorneys for Lance Armstrong have demanded an on-air apology from "60 Minutes" after the head of Switzerland's anti-doping laboratory denied allegations the seven-time Tour de France winner tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs at the 2001 Tour de Suisse.

In a letter sent Wednesday to CBS News Chairman and "60 Minutes" executive producer Jeff Fager, lawyer Elliot Peters said the May 22 segment about Armstrong was built on a series of falsehoods, and he accused the reputable CBS show of sloppy journalism.

"In the cold light of morning your story was either extraordinarily shoddy, to the point of being reckless and unprofessional, or a vicious hit-and-run job," Peters wrote. "In either case, a categorical on-air apology is required."

CBS News spokesman Kevin Tedesco said Wednesday he couldn't immediately comment on the letter, but said: "We consider this the most thorough investigation into doping in the sport of cycling ever done."

Former teammate Tyler Hamilton alleged in the piece that Armstrong talked about using the banned blood-booster EPO to prepare for his third Tour de France in 2001 and cycling's governing body, the International Cycling Union, helped him hide a positive test at the Swiss event.

Last week, the head of Switzerland's anti-doping laboratory, Martial Saugy, denied allegations Armstrong tested positive for performing-enhancing drugs during the 2001 Tour de Suisse.

Saugy said his lab did find suspicious levels of EPO in four urine samples from the race Armstrong won, but he didn't know if any belonged to the seven-time Tour de France winner.

Armstrong has repeatedly denied doping and has never tested positive. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are investigating an alleged doping program in Armstrong's teams.

"60 Minutes" also reported ICU officials brokered a meeting involving Armstrong and Saugy's World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited lab, which tested the Swiss race samples.

Saugy told the Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung last week that he met with Armstrong and then-U.S. Postal team manager Johan Bruyneel, but not in Lausanne as Hamilton claimed and unconnected to a suspicious test result.

Peters added the show's producers were alerted by Armstrong's camp prior to the show's airing that the Swiss-related allegations were false and provided evidence to refute them.

"What is particularly disturbing is that `60 Minutes' had access to the true facts, could easily have verified them, and apparently chose instead to broadcast untruths and then layer innuendo on top of the falsehoods," Peters said.

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