As we see racism increasingly permeating social media, the carefully crafted public apology from a celebrity who has said or done or tweeted something racist, has practically become rote, and utterly useless.

Last week, James Bond author Anthony Horowitz issued an apology for saying that black British actor Idris Elba was “too street” to play 007 – albeit, of course, only after the Twitterati went nuts, the hashtag #TooStreet was created, and the requisite torrent of thinkpieces were written about the pervasive use of racial codespeak around the world. Horowitz explained himself in a post on Twitter: “Clumsily, I chose the word ‘street’ as Elba’s gritty portrayal of DCI John Luther was in my mind but I admit it was a poor choice of word. I am mortified to have caused offence.”

Anthony Horowitz (@AnthonyHorowitz) I'm really sorry my comments about Idris Elba have caused offence [full statement attached] pic.twitter.com/UD6ouA45Uv

His comments hit all the formulaic benchmarks of the modern apology for being, or saying something, racist in the media: abject self-deprecation, noted honorable intention, semi-plausible reasoning and questionable contrition. And then it’s all good. But if all we needed were individual apologies – if you can even call them that – for the ongoing and widespread acts of micro- and macro-aggression racism, well.

This year alone has been full of examples. We started out with former E! correspondent Giuliana Rancic’s casually offensive comment that Disney star Zendaya’s dreadlocks that she donned on the Oscars red carpet evoked the smell of “patchouli oil or weed”. Rancic made her apology live on air before a rerun of the offending show: “I’d really like to address something that is weighing very heavily on my heart. I want to say to Zendaya that I am so sincerely sorry. I didn’t intend to hurt anybody, but I’ve learned it’s not my intent that matters. It’s the result.” Heavy on her heart, check. Sincerely sorry, check. Good intentions, check. Contrition vis-a-vis enlightenment about the result mattering more than the intention, check.

Not long afterward, actor Ben Affleck issued his public apology on Facebook for trying to conceal his slave-owning ancestors from the PBS series Finding Your Roots: “I felt embarrassed. The very thought left a bad taste in my mouth … It’s important to remember that this isn’t a news program. Finding Your Roots is a show where you voluntarily provide a great deal of information about your family, making you quite vulnerable … I regret my initial thoughts that the issue of slavery not be included in the story.” But you know what? I’m Batman, so.

Over the summer, Paula Deen once again revealed herself to be racially ignorant after her social media manager tweeted out a picture of Deen and her son posing as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Deen’s son, Bobby, appears in brownface. Unlike that time she got caught using the N-word, for which she was sued and issued a relentless series of self-serving public apologies, this time she just had her publicist issue a statement on her behalf: “Paula immediately had this picture taken down as soon as she saw the post and apologizes to all who were offended.” Because honestly, she’s probably too busy preparing for her guest stint on Dancing with the Stars, which cast her two months after this incident occurred.

Fresh off the heels of Deen’s apology came Kelly Osbourne’s public statement in August after she said on The View: “If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilet, Donald Trump?” Osbourne, who openly criticized Rancic for her earlier remarks about Zendaya (pot, kettle, black), took her apology to Instagram: “I want to start by saying I ALWAYS take responsibility for my actions. In this particular case I will take responsibility for my poor choice of words but I will not apologize for being a racist as I am NOT. I whole-hearted fucked up today. I don’t want to bullshit anyone with lame excuses.” What is especially striking about Osbourne’s apology, though, is that in her self-assured effort to make clear who or what she really is (not a racist), she doubles down on what her initial comment implies – that while she may not be a racist, she clearly does not understand that systemic racism goes a whole lot deeper than a “poor choice of words”.

The truth is, most white people don’t understand this – certainly, I would argue, most white celebrities. These are people who live in a magic bubble of protected privilege with malleable rules and realities, where racial justice is a priority only when the time is right. This message is far louder than the canned public apology that serves little more than self-prescribed absolution. But until white celebrities shift racial justice to the forefront of their priorities, and fully understand the stunning impact of their ignorance, an apology means nothing beyond: we may unwittingly perpetuate racism, but … wait for it … here’s my apology.