Not too late to say sorry. Quincy Jones‘ daughters had a family intervention with their father after he did a round of controversial interviews earlier this month — and now he is apologizing for the things he said.
The music producer took to Twitter on Wednesday, February 22, to issue a heartfelt apology for his statements and to thank his family for their grace. “A couple of weeks ago, my six daughters (who I’m beyond proud of) took me aside to do a surprise ‘family intervention’ because of some silly things I said in two recent interviews” Jones, 84, revealed. “I have learned my lesson!”
He added: “I am an imperfect human & I’m not afraid to say it. And I’m sorry and I’m not afraid to say it.”
— Quincy Jones (@QuincyDJones) February 22, 2018
The mogul opened up in interviews with GQ in January and Vulture earlier this month and made controversial comments about everything from his relationship with Michael Jackson, his dislike for The Beatles and President Trump to also making a claim about Richard Pryor’s intimate relationship with Marlon Brando. Jones also criticized Taylor Swift’s music and spoke openly about his dating life, saying he “used to date” Ivanka Trump and revealing that he has 22 girlfriends all over the world.
“When you’ve been fortunate enough to have lived such a long & crazy life, certain details about specific events come flooding back all at once. Even at 85, it’s apparent that ‘wordvomit’ & bad mouthing is inexcusable,” he wrote in the statement. “One of the hardest things about this situation is that this bad-mouthing has contradicted the very real messages I tried to relay about racism, inequality, homophobia, poverty…you name it.”
The producer said that he privately reached out to his friends to apologize but felt the responsibility to release an apology since he is a public figure. “I’m sorry to anyone whom my words offended & I’m especially sorry to my friends who are still here with me & to those who aren’t,” he continued. “To my dear family & friends … thank you for your grace. Thank you for calling me out when I’ve clearly made a mistake.”
The entertainment executive added: “I encourage you all to please grow with me & keep on keepin’ on.”
Rain Pryor took to Facebook to defend her late father and called out Jones for his statements after the interview was published. “Q, was once a brilliant music producer who is losing his mind, and decided to garner publicity for himself with a sensationalized interview,” she wrote on February 8. “And because y’all think and equate Fame and Money with decency, you ate it up like thirsty dogs, as he spewed out a lie about my father who’s not here to defend himself.”
In his interview, Jones detailed an alleged relationship between the comedian and Brando: “[Marlon] Brando used to go cha-cha dancing with us. He could dance his ass off. He was the most charming motherf—ker you ever met. He’d f—k anything. Anything! He’d f—k a mailbox. James Baldwin. Richard Pryor. Marvin Gaye.”
Jones has seven children from various relationships. He was first married to actress Jeri Caldwell from 1957 to 1966 and the two share daughter, Jolie Jones. In 1967, he wed Swedish model Ulla Andersson and they had two children, Martina and Quincy Jones III, 49, and divorced in 1974. That same year, he tied the knot with his third wife, Peggy Lipton. Jones and Lipton have two daughters, Kidada, 43, and Rashida, 41, and split in 1990. In 1993, he welcomed daughter Kenya, 25, with actress Nastassja Kinski.