Ted Danson says he'll apologise for life over Whoopi Goldberg roast

Ted Danson has revealed he will "apologise for the rest of (his) life" for doing a roast of Whoopi Goldberg in Blackface.

During an appearance on an episode of the podcast Who's With Me?, Danson expressed his enduring regret over the 1993 incident.

The Cheers actor had been romantically involved with Goldberg at the time, and took part in a private event at the New York Friars Club that included jokes about the couple's sex life and racial slurs.

The roast sparked a backlash from the crowd attending, as well as New York City's first Black mayor, David N. Dinkins, and Danson remains horrified at his behaviour.

"I need to and want to apologise for the rest of my life because somebody today can go on the internet and go, 'What the f**k? Wow, I feel betrayed, I feel angry.' And I did that," the 78-year-old actor shared.

Danson went on to reveal that his romance with Goldberg had been fizzling out at the time, and he had attempted to remove himself from the roast. However, the star claimed he had to go ahead with the appearance because the Friars Club had "sold so many tickets".

As he realised he would have to take part, The Good Place star recalled why he made the decision to appear in Blackface.

"So my brain was going, OK, here is one of the most outrageous, funny Black women in the world. And I'm supposed to be roasting her and I'm not a stand-up," he explained.

"And then I thought, 'Well, I can do performance theatre.'... Well, if I were Black, I could say all these outrageous things. I'm not; then my mind went, I will do it in Blackface and that will be funny or not, but it will be like, 'I have license now.'... I thought I could pull this off."

Describing the decision as "so arrogant and stupid", Danson admitted he knew he had made a mistake as soon as he began his monologue.

He acknowledged that his actions were "wrong and hurtful" and expressed regret that Goldberg would have to address the incident again.

"Poor Whoopi Goldberg has had to defend me over the years, sweetly and gracefully. So the last thing she probably wants to do is be put in this position again," the star added.

The Sister Act star defended Danson's roast at the time, insisting that she helped write some of the material.