Introduction:
Embarrassment, regret, guilt emotions that often accompany moments of shame. The feeling of shame can be a powerful force, influencing our thoughts, behaviors, and even our self-esteem. Whether it stems from a mistake we’ve made, a societal expectation we’ve failed to meet, or a perceived flaw within ourselves, shame has a way of burrowing deep into our consciousness, leaving us feeling exposed and vulnerable.
Exploring the theme of shame through words can be both cathartic and enlightening. It allows us to acknowledge and process our experiences, reminding us that we are not alone in our struggles. From authors and poets to philosophers and everyday individuals, people have grappled with the complexities of shame throughout history, offering insights that resonate across time and culture. In this collection of ashamed quotes, we delve into the depths of this universal emotion, seeking wisdom, solace, and perhaps even redemption.
Don’t be afraid. Don’t be ashamed. Don’t ever apologize for your sexuality. Just be you. Sonya Deville
It comes from within to not be ashamed of our brothers and sisters who have accents. Jimmy O. Yang
Never be ashamed to write a melody that people remember. Burt Bacharach
A gentleman would be ashamed should his deeds not match his words. Confucius
It’s sad that the most glorious of sexual experiences can make us feel guilty, ashamed, embarrassed, and abnormal. Sue Johanson
I am not ashamed to confess that I am ignorant of what I do not know. Marcus Tullius Cicero
I am ashamed the law is such an ass. George Chapman
I know that my Republican colleagues are as ashamed as I am that the United States is forced to borrow over $1 trillion from foreign nations to pay for our national priorities like reconstruction of the gulf coast and the war in Iraq. Dennis Cardoza
Whoever blushes is already guilty; true innocence is ashamed of nothing. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Scientists are doing an awful lot of damage to the world in the name of helping it. I don’t mind attacking my own fraternity because I am ashamed of it. Kary Mullis
I am a smoker, I’m ashamed to say. I had given it up for many years, then picked it up again. It’s a horrible habit. I struggle with myself all the time. And I love to smoke. Melissa Leo
America should be ashamed to say they have the best justice system in the world when, every day, race plays a part in who goes to prison, who don’t go to prison. Anthony Ray Hinton
I’ve never been a hands-on dad. I’m not ashamed to admit it, but you can’t run a restaurant and be home for tea at 4:30 and bath and change nappies. Gordon Ramsay
The secret of my success is that I make other people money. And, never ever, ever, ever be ashamed about trying to earn as much as possible for yourself, if the person you’re working with is also making money. That’s life! Simon Cowell
Not looking for excuses is the right thing to do. I have made a lot of mistakes, and I still make mistakes, but I am not ashamed to look for the reasons behind those mistakes. Gianluigi Buffon
I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed. Jonathan Swift
The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish your feelings – words shrink things that seem timeless when they are in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out. Stephen King
I voted against this Indian bill, and my conscience yet tells me that I gave a good, honest vote, and one that I believe will not make me ashamed in the day of judgment. Davy Crockett
I was so ashamed of who I was. Lady Gaga
I think that people should never be ashamed of wanting to move on with their lives and move on from their partners. I have a lot of girlfriends who were married in their early 20s and are now divorced because they basically grew apart – they evolved into another person in their 30s. Alanna Ubach
Let us not be ashamed to speak what we shame not to think. Michel de Montaigne
Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under. H. L. Mencken
I am not ashamed to say that no man I ever met was my father’s equal, and I never loved any other man as much. Hedy Lamarr
I attribute the little I know to my not having been ashamed to ask for information, and to my rule of conversing with all descriptions of men on those topics that form their own peculiar professions and pursuits. John Locke
I am mentally ill. I can say that. I am not ashamed of that. I survived that, I’m still surviving it, but bring it on. Better me than you. Carrie Fisher
I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve ever done in the name of fairness and justice for my people. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Media outlets that are exploiting Ebola because they want a sensational story and politicians using it to their own ends ought to be ashamed. Robert Reich
I’m quite cool about my sex symbol image. It’s nothing to be proud of or ashamed of. Urmila Matondkar
I am more forgiving because I realize that all of our family histories – definitely mine – its populated with thieves and liars and incompetent people who werent bad people and who Im not ashamed of, but who are my family. Alex Wagner
I was ashamed to admit I was hipped to the idea of acting. That’s why I started in with the props. John Wayne
A lot of women feel ashamed to be weak. Rosie Perez
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. Robert A. Heinlein
I have always had school sickness, as others have seasickness. I cried when it was time to go back to school long after I was old enough to be ashamed of such behavior. Jacques Derrida
Live never to be ashamed if anything you say or do is published around the world, even if what is said is not true. Richard Bach
We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld
You should never be embarrassed or ashamed of listening to a particular type of music. Gnash
No man should advocate a course in private that he’s ashamed to admit in public. George McGovern
Every culture has something to be ashamed of, but every culture also has the right to change, to challenge negative traditions, and create to new ones. Azar Nafisi
I am not ashamed of my past; I am not ashamed of my humble beginnings. Madam C. J. Walker
I was poor white trash, no glitter, no glamour, but I’m not ashamed of anything. Eminem
I’m not ashamed of anything that I’ve done because when I did it, I was passionate about it and I was doing it for a reason. Yelawolf
I am not ashamed to say that our culture is far better than the Islamic culture, which is a culture of barbarism. Geert Wilders
I had always known that I was Jewish – we celebrated the holidays, we went to a synagogue – but I had never known that I was supposed to feel ashamed about it. Caroline Leavitt
I have made terrible mistakes that have hurt the people that I cared about the most, and I am terribly sorry. I am deeply ashamed of my terrible judgment and my actions. Anthony Weiner
VANITY’ is a celebration of beauty, self-identity, and self-respect. We want people to leave the show feeling okay to accept themselves – not to hold back and be ashamed of the extravagances they like to indulge in. We should be able to celebrate these things because they are part of living and we all strive for them. BeBe Zahara Benet
I don’t think you should be ashamed of anybody that you know that has AIDS. You should stand as close to them as you can and help them out as much as you can. I’m a strong believer in that and that’s why I try to do that for everyone I know that has the virus. Marsha P. Johnson
I felt ashamed for what I had done. I don’t have any excuses. I did what I did. I take full responsibility for myself and my actions. I wouldn’t pawn this off on anybody. I’m sorry it happened. And I hurt people. Louie Anderson
People are really hesitant about expressing that they don’t know something – but what’s the big deal? I’m not ashamed about that at all. Tracy McGrady
There’s nothing, repeat, nothing to be ashamed of when you’re going through a depression. If you get help, the chances of your licking it are really good. But, you have to get yourself onto a safe path. Mike Wallace
Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work. Mother Teresa
Photographers must learn not to be ashamed to have their photographs look like photographs. Alfred Stieglitz
The intellectual tradition is one of servility to power, and if I didn’t betray it I’d be ashamed of myself. Noam Chomsky
A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying… that he is wiser today than yesterday. Jonathan Swift
I’m an honest man. I am living my life. I’m not stealing. And I’ve never been ashamed of who I am – I am a Roma. Danis Tanovic
I love my past, I love my present. I am not ashamed of what I have had, and I am not sad because I no longer have it. Sidonie Gabrielle Colette
I think Ellenor is embarrassed and ashamed and has devoted all of her energy to the law and to helping other people get justice because it’s too difficult for her to face her own struggle for justice. Camryn Manheim
I’m not ashamed to tell the truth about what happened in my family. I think that’s what makes my comedy different. Bernie Mac
It’s not lost on me that every single person who told their story about Harvey Weinstein talked about how they were silenced, how they were encouraged not to speak up, how they were embarrassed or ashamed to speak up. Alicia Garza
I never did anything I’m really ashamed of. Lauryn Hill
I felt profoundly ashamed, I was very much upset. Otto Hahn
In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. Confucius
It is a most disgraceful shame the way in which Irishmen are brought up. They are ashamed of their language, institutions, and of everything Irish. Douglas Hyde
If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it. Marcus Tullius Cicero
We all have things we’re ashamed of. Bianca Del Rio
Here’s the thing, with comedy – and I learned this from Will Ferrell – you can’t be ashamed. If you’re doing comedy, you have to fully commit to the joke. Shame is not part of it. If you act shy or uncomfortable about your body, that makes the audience shy and uncomfortable. And in a comedy you just want them to loosen up and laugh. John C. Reilly
We’re often ashamed of asking for so much help because it seems selfish or petty or narcissistic, but I think, if there’s a God – and I believe there is – that God is there to help. That’s what God’s job is. Anne Lamott
Never be ashamed! There’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth bothering with. J. K. Rowling
I’m not ashamed to say I fear something. DJ Khaled
We are ashamed to seem evasive in the presence of a straightforward man, cowardly in the presence of a brave one, gross in the eyes of a refined one, and so on. We always imagine, and in imagining share, the judgments of the other mind. Charles Horton Cooley
It is everyone’s story. We are ashamed of our native language, be it Punjabi or Urdu. If you make mistakes while speaking your native languages, no one will say anything. But if you say one word incorrect in English, people will treat it like a crime. Saba Qamar
Quite many people have ugly hands, and I thought I should not feel ashamed about it. Park Shin-hye
No one should be ashamed to admit he is wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. Alexander Pope
To those seniors, and especially elderly veterans like myself, I want to tell you this: You are not alone, and you having nothing to be ashamed of. If elder abuse happened to me, it can happen to anyone. I want you to know that you deserve better. Mickey Rooney
However much I might try to expound or explain Love, when I come to Love itself, I am ashamed of my explanations… Love alone can explain the mysteries of love and lovers. Rumi
There are always fellow Marines who understand and know what you’re going through. Be proud, don’t be ashamed, and go out there and tackle the second life you’ve been given. Kyle Carpenter
It is time to embrace and celebrate ketchup, not be ashamed of it. Jose Andres
I have Chinese blood in me… I am not ashamed to admit that perhaps the great leaders of our country all have Chinese blood. Ferdinand Marcos
No one leaves an old friend unless they are ashamed. Julian Casablancas
I was brought up bilingual, but there came a point where my mom went back to work and I got a white babysitter, so sadly I lost it. Now I can understand Spanish and put words together, but I don’t speak it fluently. I’m ashamed of that. Michael Trevino
Cleaning is therapy for me. I’m not ashamed of holding the duster or broom. Amisha Patel
Being outspoken about my faith isn’t just something that I do; it’s who I am because my faith isn’t just a little piece of my life. It is my life. It’s not a question of whether I’m outspoken about it or not. I’m definitely not ashamed of it. Tim Tebow
Certainly I was a bully. I’m not ashamed of it at all. The hostility of the establishment to what you were able to do in the Forties and Fifties was very strong. Sometimes you have to fight against your society. Pierre Boulez
Women in love are less ashamed than men. They have less to be ashamed of. Ambrose Bierce
There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it. James Weldon Johnson
Now, being a girl, I was ashamed of my body and my lack of strength. So I tried to be a man. I shot, rode, jumped, and took part in all the fights of the boys. Agnes Smedley
I am not someone who is ashamed of my past. I’m actually really proud. I know I made a lot of mistakes, but they, in turn, were my life lessons. Drew Barrymore
Never be ashamed of what you feel. You have the right to feel any emotion that you want, and to do what makes you happy. That’s my life motto. Demi Lovato
2Pac made me want to rap, he made me want to speak my ghetto story and not be ashamed of it. Boosie
A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example. Niccolo Machiavelli
Looking back, the biggest mistake I made was feeling ashamed of it. Acne is a part of life. You don’t need to be embarrassed of it. Cameron Dallas
Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is. Benjamin Franklin
I don’t feel ashamed to be loud, which is an argument I’ve had with lots of men, who thought I was too sassy and unladylike. SZA
We’re taught to be ashamed of confusion, anger, fear and sadness, and to me they’re of equal value to happiness, excitement and inspiration. Alanis Morissette
Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. Horace Mann
Let not the 12 million Negroes be ashamed of the fact that they are the grandchildren of slaves. There is dishonor in being slave-owners. Mahatma Gandhi
When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty. George Bernard Shaw
Mormonism is the pure doctrine of Jesus Christ; of which I myself am not ashamed. Joseph Smith, Jr.
To be ashamed of one’s immorality: that is a step on the staircase at whose end one is also ashamed of one’s morality. Friedrich Nietzsche
Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip. Will Rogers
I don’t believe in the term ‘guilty pleasure,’ because it implies I should feel ashamed for liking something. A real guilty pleasure would be, I don’t know, taking gratification in some stranger’s ghastly death or something – which I guess I do enjoy, because I read a ton of true crime. Bill Hader
