Lady Gaga's "Retarded" Apology Makes Her All Square With Special Olympics

CEO is back on board Team Gaga after pop superstar issued a mea culpa for her "thoughtless" use of the word during a magazine interview

It's been a tough week for Lady Gaga.

First, she takes a tumble onstage (again); then she gets taken to task by, of all people, Weird Al Yankovic; then she books the season finale music spot on Saturday Night Live, which would be great were it not for the fact that she now has to compete for attention with its boy wonder host Justin Timberlake; and, just when it seemed the worst was over, she got called out for her casual and offensive use of the word "retarded" in a new magazine spread.

But guess what? Her week is turning around, thanks to her decision to accept a little personal responsibility. Starlets, take note.

Shortly after her unfortunate word choice—which she uttered in reference to the ridiculousness of the comparisons between her and Madonna—Lady Gaga realized the error of her ways and wasted no time issuing an apology for her thoughtless use of the slur.

"I consider it part of my life's work and music to push the boundaries of love and acceptance," she said in a statement.

"My apologies for not speaking thoughtfully. To anyone that was hurt, please know that it was furiously unintentional. An honest mistake requires honesty to make. Whether life's disabilities left you outcast, bullied or teased, rejoice and love yourself today."

The Special Olympics, which was among the first to publicly decry Gaga's phrasing, did one better—they accepted her heartfelt apology.

"Rarely a day goes by when each of us doesn't think of something in the world we'd like to change," the organization's CEO Tim Shriver blogged today.

"But most of the time, change is elusive and what we hope will be different just stays the same. But then other times, we see a change right in front of our eyes and it makes us want to cheer. That's what happened today when Lady Gaga changed."

After reiterating her apology, he again applauded the pop superstar.

"That is change, unafraid, honest, and I believe sincere change. Wow!

"I know Lady Gaga has millions of fans around the world because of her music, but now she has fans for another reason as well. She's joined the campaign to open the world's eyes to the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities and that's a whole new reason to dance."

Way to be as cool as we all knew you were, Gaga.