On Tuesday after a very touching tribute to late actor Robin Williams, Fox News' Shepard Smith made a statement that really pissed everyone off.

After reading a quote from Williams about how his children gave him a sense of wonder, Smith then said: "And yet, something inside you is so horrible or you're such a coward or whatever the reason that you decide that you have to end it.”

That's right. He called Williams a "coward" for killing himself.

Now, even if you think that may be true, you just can't say it, especially just hours after the news of his death was announced.

Not surprisingly, Smith quickly backpedaled and issued an apology:

I was sorry to read online the people who see the world in a black-and-white way, and to suggest that they might have a definitive analysis of why he did such a thing. What I wanted to do is celebrate his life and find some meaning in our own lives, since we often do know someone who is reaching out, and we have a responsibility to help that person — maybe a phone call or a door knock is in order.

"But no matter how you process it: Look at what this family is going through. I would never presume to know anything about his private life. And if any of his family members and friends were to have seen me use the word “coward,” I would be horrified. I would just to apologize to the end of the earth to anyone who might think that I meant to openly call him a coward.

"To the core of my being, I regret it. It just came out of my mouth. And I’m so sorry. And to anyone and their families who see that, I am sorry."

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