Elizabeth Banks Apologizes for Forgetting 'Color Purple' in Remarks About Steven Spielberg

Elizabeth Banks was slammed by people on social media this week after she forgot that Steven Spielberg directed the iconic film The Color Purple while slamming him for not featuring female leads in his movies.

The 43-year-old actress and director was accepting Women in Film’s Excellence in Film award on Tuesday (June 13) when she made the remark. After someone in the audience called out the mistake, she kept on talking, something she addresses in an apology statement she just released.

“I went to Indiana Jones and Jaws and every movie Steven Spielberg ever made, and by the way, he’s never made a movie with a female lead. Sorry, Steven. I don’t mean to call your ass out but it’s true,” Elizabeth said during her speech.

Click inside to read Elizabeth’s apology…

After the quote went viral and Twitter blew up, with some people asking for her address so they could mail her a copy of The Color Purple, Elizabeth spoke out on Instagram.

“I messed up. When referring to Steven Spielberg at the Women in Film awards, I framed my comments about his films inaccurately. I want to be clear from the start that I take full responsibility for what I said and I’m sorry,” Elizabeth wrote in the statement. “When I made the comments, I was thinking of recent films Steven directed, it was not my intention to dismiss the import of the iconic The Color Purple.”

“I made things worse by giving the impression that I was dismissing Shari Belafonte when she attempted to correct me, she added. “I spoke with Shari backstage and she was kind enough to forgive me. Those who have the privilege and honor of directing and producing films should be held to account for our mistakes, whether it’s about diversity or inaccurate statements. I’m very sorry.”