Debra Messing apologises for Kim Kardashian tweet

Debra Messing has apologised for her controversial tweet about Kim Kardashian.

Last month, when Saturday Night Live producers announced the show’s hosting line-up, the Will & Grace star took to Twitter to express confusion over the decision to give Kardashian presenting duties.

“Why Kim Kardashian?” Messing wrote at the time. “I mean, I know she is a cultural icon, but SNL has hosts, generally, who are performers who are there to promote a film, TV show, or album launch. Am I missing something?”

But during an appearance on the Tamron Hall Show on Wednesday, the 53-year-old insisted the tweet was not intended to “troll” the reality TV star.

“I was not intending to troll her,” she explained. “And if anybody took it that way, I apologise. That was never my intention. She is this phenomenon, I mean, she is a cultural icon. I am someone who grew up with SNL. I love comedy.”

The actress went on to note that the decision to ask Kardashian to host seemed to move away from the sketch show’s “formula” of having actors or comedians host.

“I was like, ‘Oh, does she have a new TV show coming out? Does she have a book coming out? Is she in a movie?’ And she didn’t have anything coming out. Actually, her TV show had just wrapped.”

The Emmy winner regretted that the tweet was “interpreted differently” than she expected, and revealed that she watched Kardashian’s episode and thought she was “amazing”.

“I was rooting for her,” she continued. “If you know me and you follow me, then you know that I consistently lift up women. I support women. So, I hope that people understand that that was never my intention.”