DETROIT - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick returned to work Thursday after an emotional apology Wednesday night for a text message scandal.

In a televised appearance, Kilpatrick apologized for "the embarrassment and disappointment" that has come out of the scandal involving thousands of text messages from former chief of staff Christine Beatty's pager, the Detroit Free Press said.

"I want to start tonight by saying to the citizens of this great city: I'm sorry," Kilpatrick said in the live address.

The mayor, however, never actually said what he was apologizing for, the newspaper said.

The Free Press recently obtained text messages from Beatty's pager that showed they were involved in a sexual affair, a relationship Kilpatrick and Beatty allegedly lied about in sworn testimony last summer.

Beatty resigned Monday.

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