How could he be so heartless?

Kanye West's own song lyrics came back to bite him after his outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards, when he interrupted teen country-singer Taylor Swift's acceptance speech and said she didn't deserve to win because "Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time."

It's hard to control the damage a public outburst can do to a celebrity's reputation. Experts say a heartfelt apology is the best way to do it.

Mike Paul of New York-based MGP and Associates PR has been helping politicians, celebrities, athletes and companies manage blows to their reputations during a crisis for over 20 years. He's known as the "Reputation Doctor."

"I don't believe that any publicity is good publicity," says Paul, whose company motto is "Because Your Reputation is Everything."

"It is helping him to get attention, but is this the type of attention you want?"

Paul says this kind of acting-before-you-think mentality is a losing strategy for anyone who wants to keep up a positive reputation in the long run because they become known for being offensive.

Sure they'll get attention and fame in the short-term, but they'll eventually wither away into obscurity.

"So what he's really saying is 'I'm willing to take the risk,'" he says about West.

Paul says celebrities who want lifelong excellent reputations need to follow six rules to build a solid one: show truth, honesty, humanity, transparency, accountability and consistency.

But what about someone like tennis player Serena Williams, who had a good reputation as a top-notch athlete, but on Sunday, yelled profanities and waved her racket at a lineswoman during a match?

"Two days ago she was one of the strongest and best female players, and with one incident if not handled properly, she could be positioned as the female John McEnroe," he says, even if she is normally seen as a class act.

But with the right public apology, that negative image can be turned around almost instantly.

How to make the proper apology

The timing is critical. If someone waits longer than 48 hours, they've lost their window of opportunity to fix their reputation because it looks like they are only apologizing because they got caught.

"When you apologize right away, it quickly bounces back to the old Serena. But time is not your friend. The quicker you do it, the better the chance you have of bouncing back," he says.

West posted an apology on his blog shortly after the incident, deleted it, then replaced it with another the following day, stating "I feel like Ben Stiller in 'Meet the Parents' when he messed up everything and Robert De Niro asked him to leave... That was Taylor's moment and I had no right in any way to take it from her. I am truly sorry."

But by that time, he had already attracted the scorn of a number of others who were at the awards show. Singer Katy Perry wrote on her Twitter feed: "It's like U stepped on a kitten."

Paul says the apologizing celebrity should take 100 per cent responsibility for the incident, should make no excuses, and must appear heartfelt and repentant. And whatever you do, don't use the word "if."

He's seen so many celebrities make the mistake of saying "I'm sorry IF I offended someone."

"It was on the news that seconds after you said it, it offended people. Why would you say 'if'?"

And above all, the apology should be genuine, because people will see through it.

"Don't do it because you're seeking to have a public approval change. You must do it because you yourself believe you have wronged another human being," he says.

One example of a poorly delivered apology is the case of Michael Richards, who made a statement on the Late Show with David Letterman.

"There will be giggles in the background even if he's trying to be sincere," says Paul.

He says celebrities would be best to call serious news outlets like Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America or the Today Show.

So was West's blog apology to Swift enough to turn his reputation around?

Paul said apologizing by blog or YouTube video -- like Chris Brown did after he battered Rihanna---isn't the right way to go.

He says that since there are no questions by an interviewer, it robs people of the transparency, accountability and consistency required to maintain an excellent reputation.

West and Williams aren't the only celebrities who have made a public blunder. Here's some examples of messy recent ones:

• Michael Richards -- Best known as the quirky Kramer from "Seinfeld," Richards sparked disgust when a leaked video showed him using the "N" word over and over against hecklers in a comedy club in November 2006. He made an apology on "Late Night with David Letterman" later that month. "I'm deeply, deeply sorry and I'll get to the force field of this hostility," he said.
• Mel Gibson -- The Oscar winner, best known for "Braveheart" and his role in the "Lethal Weapon" movies, went on an anti-Semitic rant after being pulled over for drunk driving in July 2006. In his apology he said, "I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable."
• Christian Bale -- His nearly four-minute-long rant at a cinematographer who accidentally walked into a scene on the recent "Terminator" movie seemed to get him more press than that actual film. Bale later said "Do not allow...my incredibly embarrassing meltdown overshadow this movie and to have all those people's hard work go to waste."