11 Apr 2016

Tim Robbins apologises to Guam

12:12 pm on 11 April 2016
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both spoke at the Founders Day Gala.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both spoke at the Founders Day Gala. Photo: AFP

The American actor, Tim Robbins, has apologised to Guam over a joke he made about the island's relevance to the United States presidential campaign.

Speaking at a rally for Democratic party candidate Bernie Sanders earlier this month, Mr Robbins said another candidate, Hillary Clinton's win in South Carolina was about "as significant as winning Guam."

Guam's delegate to Congress, Madeleine Bordallo, a Democrat, said she was disappointed that Guamanians' lack of voting rights in US elections had been reduced to a political punchline.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Robbins said he was commenting about Guam's size, not its people's lack of voting rights, and that he did not mean to disparage the people of Guam.

As a non-incorporated territory of the United States, the people of Guam do not get to vote in the upcoming elections.