Well, if I heard myself at a funeral saying “She was a bitch and I’m glad she’s gone. I’m not going to pretend she was wonderful just because she’s dead,” I would feel that I ought to apologize for inappropriately voicing that thought. My regret for laying it on others might be entirely sincere. Yet my feeling might well remain unchanged.
One has a right to one’s private opinion, but it isn’t always necessary to tell others what it is, especially if speaking it will only cause harm or distress and not do anyone any good.
Oddly, I did know someone who went to a memorial service with an attitude like that (and why didn’t she stay home? peer pressure). Sometime during the reception, I found her in tears. I remarked that I hadn’t thought she was so attached to the deceased. She said, “I wasn’t. But after listening to all the things people said about her, I’ve just realized that because of my negative attitude I missed out on knowing someone that I’d have liked to have as a friend.” It was one of the most human moments I ever saw this person show.