Digging Yourself Deeper / Western Animation

Characters who keep digging themselves deeper while trying to clarify an unintentionally unfortunate remark in Western Animation.

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• "The Cave of Two Lovers" episode in Avatar: The Last Airbender had a stunningly awkward pit trap for Aang when he tried to diffuse his embarrassment over a possible kiss with Katara.
  Aang: Us...kissing... (looks dreamy)
  Katara: Heh, us, kissing! What was I thinking? Can you imagine that?
  Aang: (laughs it off) Heh, yeah, I definitely wouldn't want to kiss you. (suddenly realizes what he just said)
  Katara: (offended) Oh. Well, I didn't realize it was such a horrible option. Sorry for suggesting it.
  Aang: No, no! I mean, if it was a choice between kissing you and dying...
  Katara: UGH!
  Aang: What? I'm saying I would rather kiss you than die! That's a compliment!
  Katara: (storms off) Well, I'm not sure which I would rather do!
  Aang: What is wrong with me...?
  • Followed by Zuko in the third season revealing that he sent Combustion Man after them when, at the time, all they knew about him was that he was a psycho who wouldn't stop chasing them. This revelation didn't exactly earn Zuko any points with the good guys.
  • In Sequel Series The Legend of Korra's "A Leaf in the Wind", Bolin correctly presumes that Korra is a waterbender due to ethnicity and clothing, but Korra trolls him by saying she's an earthbender (which she is too...). Bolin hastily tries to apologize for Mistaken Nationality.
    Bolin: I'm sorry, no, no! I didn't mean to assume! It's that, I was just figuring... with your Water Tribe getup... that you are... a Water Tribe... gal.
• Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman had this one from one:
  Bruce: "Working late again?"
  Roxanne: "Yeah. Fortunately, my boyfriend is very understanding. What about yours?" *pause* "Girlfriend, I mean! Of course, girlfriend! I mean, considering your reputation and- NOT that it's bad or anything or even any of my business, because it's not, I was just curious!" *stops suddenly* "How red is my face?"
  Bruce: (cheerfully) "Crimson."
  • Bruce himself is not immune to this as Justice League demonstrates:

Batman: Diana is a remarkable woman, she's a valued friend. She's... standing Right Behind Me, isn't she?
Wonder Woman: But don't let that stop you. Keep digging.

• Defied by Kevin in Ben 10: Ultimate Alien after he tells Gwen that you need to treat a car like you treat a woman. Gwen asks him to go on, but he wisely drops the idea.
• In the Bump in the Night episode "A Sneeze In Time," Bumpy points out Squishy's mistake by saying, "What a rush! Why'd you turn the wrong valve? Boy, only a doofus would do that!" In an attempt to undo his indirect insult, he travels back in time. He only makes it worse. He tries this repeatedly until Future Squishy shows up and suggests that Bumpy simply apologize.
• In the The Cleveland Show episode "Tis the Cleveland To Be Sorry", Cleveland apologizes for pretending to be homeless at a gathering, only for him to belittle another certain group of people with rights, forcing him to apologize that other group for being disrespectful...only for him to repeat the same mistake over and over. (Child molesters have rights as well, apparently).
• Clone High: In the revival, Abe uses politically-incorrect terms and gets shunned for it. He attempts to apologize for it with a video, but he makes things worse by saying "all lives matter" and "I don't see color." Eventually, he gives up and becomes unapologetic.
• In the Family Guy episode "Welcome Back, Carter", when Peter catches his father-in-law with a woman (that's not his wife):
  Peter: Oh, my God, Mr. Pewterschimdt, you're having an affair? Ew! Eww!
  Carter: No, no, this is my sister!
  Peter: Eww!
  Carter: No, no, no, I'm impotent!
  Peter: Eww!
  Carter: I mean, she looked at me, while I did it to myself!
  Peter: Ewww!
  Carter: I mean, she's a man!
  Peter: Ewww!
  • The episode "Road to the North Pole", Brian takes Stewie to see Santa at the mall and they cut in line because Quagmire, who hates Brian with a passion, is in line with his niece and so tries to be as friendly as possible with his niece to be on a good note with him, only Brian mistakes his niece for a "nephew" because she's gone through chimotherapy to fight cancer and took out her hair, causing her to cry. Then after learning that, Brian assumes she's going to die, which causes her to panic further and leaves in tears with Quagmire. Later on, what convinces Brian to take Stewie to the North Pole is so he can avoid Quagmire after accidentally causing his niece to go to the hospital from a sudden drop in health due to his ineptitute.
• An episode of The Boondocks involves Riley referring to a classmate as "gay" due his dance moves and having to apologize for the remark which later backfires when Riley stands by his comment by saying "Gay is gay" and Robert and Reverend Rollo Goodlove only worsen the situation by excusing Riley's disrespectful behavior by claiming that he has special needs.
• Used in The Looney Tunes Show when Crusher is staring down Daffy:
  Daffy: You'll have to pardon my friend. The heat's getting to him. He's not used to this. He's not a hardened criminal like you. I mean, I shouldn't assume that you're a hardened criminal. But in my defense, you do have a Neanderthal-shaped head, which I normally equate with stupidity—uh, not that you're stupid. I just mean that you look stupid. I don't mean that as an insult. I mean, some people think stupid to mean cool, like "That's a stupid car," "You've got a stupid apartment"...I wish I could stop talking. I'm just very nervous right now. I tend to ramble when I'm nervous. You know what the word "ramble" means? You're probably too stupid to know! And here, I mean stupid-stupid, not stupid-cool!
  • Another time, after Daffy goes off at Tina for not telling him about "her" baby;
    "It's not my kid, it's my sister's! I'm babysitting!"
    "... She's beautiful."
    "He's a boy!"
• In the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "No Second Prances", Trixie accidentally reveals that her new friendship with Starlight was mostly a way to humiliate Twilight. She then offers this explanation:
  Trixie: "I like you! Beating Twilight was just a bonus." (facehoof) "Saying that didn't help, did it?"
• In the Regular Show episode "Merry Christmas, Mordecai", Mordecai has an Imagine Spot of Margaret and CJ meeting at the Christmas party and literally digging himself into a hole the more he talks.
  Mordecai: CJ, this is Margaret. My girlfriend. (the ground caves beneath him) I mean, my ex-girlfriend. (the ground gives way even more) I mean, a girl I kissed a bunch in the past who's my friend. (the hole gets even deeper)
• The Simpsons:
  • In "Alone Again, Natura-Diddly", Moe tells Ned that Maude was very special, only to mention that he would have courted her immediately if Ned had been the one who died. He then says that Maude was hot, which sends Ned into a rage.
  • In "Girls Just Want To Have Sums", while Principal Skinner is publicly speaking to a former student of his, he states that she was good at math for "a girl". This gets him in hot water and he tries to explain himself, but his comments only make him sound like more of a misogynist until finally pleading "Just tell me what to say!".
  • In "Bart-Mangled Banner", the Simpsons are accused of being unpatriotic when Bart accidentally moons the American flag (and a little word-twisting) and are put on a talk show to clear themselves, the host asks "Which part of America do you hate the most?". Marge protests, sarcastically replying that if the government is built on questions like that, then she does hate America. Naturally, this gets the family in a bigger mess.
  • In "Double, Double, Boy in Trouble", a rich boy named Simon Woosterfield traded places with Bart. When Lisa figured out Simon wasn't Bart, she slapped him and pointed out the real Bart would have hit her back. Simon then asked if he would defenestrate her, prompting Lisa to mention the trope.
  • The episode "To Cur, with Love", which aired a month after the 2012 presidential election, ends with a time filler sequence of Burns recording a political advertisement expressing his displeasure with Mitt Romney losing the election.
    Burns: And we've got to change our approach to immigration. I have a progressive proposal to let into this country 200 grimy Irishmen a year. I've got lots of potatoes that need peeling and stables to be mucked out.
    Smithers: Sir, the insta-polls are in. You're just digging yourself deeper.
    Burns: Well, then let me just say this. Marco Rubio es un panuela rosa.
    Smithers: I'm afraid you just made things even worse.
    Burns: How? Why?
    Smithers: You just said "Marco Rubio is a pink handkerchief".
    Burns: This public service announcement is over. Execute the cameraman!
  • In "See Homer Run", Homer accidentally ruins Lisa's Father's Day gift to him (a book she drew herself) when he tries to hang it on the refrigerator with a magnet, only for it to slide down into the automatic water dispenser and get soaked. Homer tries to blame the magnet, but Lisa runs off crying because she made it for his birthday.
  • In "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation", after a night drinking, Homer takes a taxi home, but discovers later that the taxi was part of a reality show, Taxicab Conversations, which films the passengers' personal thoughts. This puts Homer in the uncomfortable position of explaining away his drunken statements.
    Lisa: (saddened) Have you always resented us, Dad?
    Homer: Oh, I don't resent you, sweetheart. What I was trying to say, and maybe I didn't use the right words was that marriage is like a coffin and each kid is another nail. But as coffins go-
    Lisa: Please, don't say any more!
  • In "Homie the Clown", the Springfield Mafia kidnap Homer whom they mistake for Krusty because of Homer being dressed like him. Homer tries to tell them that he isn't Krusty, but everyone he claims to be, including himself, is targeted by the mafia for several reasons.
    Homer: You can't kidnap me for being Krusty. I'm not him. I'm Homer Simpson.
    Fat Tony: The same Homer Simpson who crashed his car through the wall of our club?
    Homer: Actually, my name is Barney. Yes, Barney Gumble.
    Legs: The same Barney Gumble who keeps taking pictures with my sister?
    Homer: Actually my real name is eh...(to himself) Think, Krusty, think. (to the Mafia) Joe Valachi.
    Louie: The same Joe Valachi who squealed to the senate subcommittee about organized crime?
    Homer: Benedict Arnold!
    Legs: The same Benedict Arnold who plotted to surrender West Point to the hated British?
    Homer: D'oh!
• In Star Trek: Lower Decks, a reporter visits the Cerritos in the third season and Captain Freeman tries to lock down everything and everyone that she thinks will make the ship look bad, only for the reporter to learn about a bunch of ridiculous-sounding incidents anyway and conclude that Freeman and her crew are incompetent. Freeman assumes that her daughter, Ensign Mariner, spilled the beans to embarrass the ship. Freeman orders the crew to ice Mariner out and ships her off to the worst post in Starfleet. Then the report airs, and it turns out Mariner gave a glowing interview, everyone else talked about the inter-departmental rivalries or bizarre happenings as funny stories in their bits, and now Freeman looks like a petty tyrant who ejected her own daughter for a minor infraction.
• Steven Universe: In "The Test", Pearl accidentally tells Steven that a disastrous mission he went on in the earlier episode "Cheeseburger Backpack" was actually a test of his abilities that he just barely passed. Her attempts to rectify the situation following Steven's shock (and his notion that he failed the test by his own standards) fall straight into this trope.

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