Gere apologizes for obscene act.

Gerbil accepts. (That's a joke, son.)

It looks like Richard Gere has kicked off his apology tour. Will rehab be far behind?

This from the BBC:

Actor Richard Gere has apologised for causing offence when he kissed Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Gere, 57, said he had misread Indian customs and that he regretted any problems he had caused Shetty. He asked for the "media circus" to end and hoped it would not detract from the message of preventing AIDS.

Doesn't sound too apologetic on the Daily Show. Must be saving the melodrama for Oprah. Hmm, if he hurries he might still make it onto the View before Rosie leaves...

Speaking on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, the actor said the situation as "nothing". "There is a very small right-wing, very conservative political party in India and they are the moral police in India... they do this kind of thing quite often," he said. A judge had ordered Shetty to appear in his court on 5 May, saying she did nothing to resist the kiss, which he called "highly sexually erotic".

A lecher and a gentleman... extra crispy.

Gere said Shetty was not to blame for the incident. "I've felt terrible that she should carry a burden that is no fault of hers," he said. Public displays of affection are still largely taboo in India, and protestors in Mumbai (Bombay) set fire to effigies of Gere following the incident.

In other Shetty news, Shilpa set to sell poppadums at Shilpa Shetty Dining Halls.