Zendaya Responds to Giuliana Rancic's On-Air Apology With Another Eloquent Message

Zendaya Coleman has responded to E! host Giuliana Rancic's on-air apology with a meaningful message posted to Instagram on Wednesday. She wrote, "Studies have shown that even though we try to act without prejudice, sometimes it's just hidden inside us due to our past or surroundings," adding, "That hidden prejudice is often influential in our actions. It's our job to spot these issues within others and ourselves and destroy them before they become hurtful." She ended the post by saying, "Giuliana, I appreciate your apology and I'm glad it was a learning experience for you and for the network."

After initially sending out a regretful tweet, Giuliana Rancic took a moment during Tuesday's E! News to issue a formal apology to actress and singer Zendaya Coleman for controversial comments she made on the post-Oscars episode of Fashion Police. In the video, Giuliana says, "As you know, Fashion Police is a show that pokes fun at celebrities in good spirit, but I do understand that something I said last night did cross the line." She explained that she "didn't intend to hurt anybody," adding, "But I've learned it's not my intent that matters — it's the result, and the result is that people are offended, including Zendaya, and that is not OK." She went on: "Therefore, I want to say to Zendaya, and anyone else out there that I have hurt, that I am so, so sincerely sorry. This really has been a learning experience for me."

On Monday's Fashion Police, Giuliana commented on the dreadlocks that Zendaya wore on the red carpet, saying she felt like the star "smells like patchouli oil . . . or weed." She faced tons of backlash over the statements, which were perceived as racially insensitive. Zendaya herself responded with a heartfelt, graceful post shared to Instagram that garnered support from stars like Kerry Washington, Chloë Grace Moretz, Whoopi Goldberg, and Selma director Ava DuVernay, who tweeted, "You're beautiful, Queen. We bless the ignorant and wish them well." Watch Giuliana's video apology and check out Zendaya's eloquent response below.

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