Sienna Miller apologizes to Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH - Sienna Miller, who disparaged Pittsburgh in a magazine interview, apologized on Friday, saying her remarks were taken out of context and that she found the city and residents gracious.

The 24-year-old British actress, in town shooting the screen adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," called the city a name that sounds like Pittsburgh, but contains an expletive. Her comments appear in the latest edition of Rolling Stone, which hit newsstands Friday.

Miller, who starred in "Layer Cake," "Casanova" and the remake of "Alfie," told Rolling Stone, "Can you believe this is my life? Will you pity me when you're back in your funky New York apartment and I'm still in Pittsburgh? I need to get more glamorous films and stop with my indie year."

Her remarks touched a nerve here, where residents are fiercely loyal to their hometown. Miller's comments appeared in the city's two major daily newspapers and a television news anchor offered to take Miller around town to show her the sights.

"I think obviously we have a great town, and I disagree with her comments," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said, adding she should see the town.

"I'm sure in her short experience here she hasn't had the opportunity to do that," he said. "If she would have, I think she would have found that Pittsburgh is a great place to live."

On Friday, Miller apologized in a statement issued by her publicist, saying she was referring to the fact that the production was shooting mostly at night and she had not had a chance to fully explore the city.

"What I have seen of it is beautiful. I came once before to visit The Andy Warhol Museum whilst researching a film and found both the city and its inhabitants warm and gracious," she said.

She said her father, who is from Meadville, about 85 miles north of Pittsburgh, planned to show her around the city this weekend.

Forbes magazine routinely lists Pittsburgh as one of the worst cities for singles. But Pittsburgh's residents do not take kindly to disparaging remarks about their town and often react angrily.

In 2003, the nationally syndicated cartoon "Get Fuzzy" lampooned Pittsburgh as a tourist destination; Bucky Katt asks a travel agent if she has "any packaged trips based primarily on smell" and she gives him information on Pittsburgh. The strip's creator, Darby Conley, said he received 300 to 400 e-mails, including death threats and hate mail.

Earlier this year, Pittsburghers didn't take kindly when Rocky Mountain News columnist Bill Johnson called the city "butt-ugly" in the run-up to the Super Bowl, which the Steelers won.