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     *A simple appearance on "The Tonight Show" to plug her new movie "Things We Lost in the Fire" turned disastrous for Halle Berry after a joke she told was viewed as anti-Semitic, reports the New York Post.

      During the Friday afternoon taping, Berry was showing photos of herself using the Mac program Photo Booth, which distorts images like a carnival fun-house mirror.

      Commenting on the first picture showing her nose as oversized, Berry reportedly said: "Here's where I look like my Jewish cousin." A source in the audience told Page Six an awkward silence followed before Leno nervously said, "I'm glad you said that and not me." Berry, 41, followed with: "Oh my God, have I just like ruined my career?"

      The show aired that night with Berry's "Jewish" comment edited out and a laugh track added to fill the silence. [View clip below.]

      Another guest in the audience told the Post: "If you watch the clip, you can see Halle saying the word 'Jewish,' though obviously there is no audio. NBC covered her ass. Ms. Berry should know how unbelievably inappropriate her comment was . . . She should be ashamed of herself."

      Berry, currently four-and-a-half months pregnant with her first child, was contacted by Page Six and reportedly seemed near tears when she explained: "I so didn't mean to offend anybody - and after the show I realized it could be seen as offensive, so I asked Jay to take it out, and he did."

       She continued: "What happened was I was backstage before the show and I have three girls who are Jewish who work for me. We were going through pictures to see which ones looked silly, and one of my Jewish friends said [of the big-nose picture], 'That could be your Jewish cousin!' And I guess it was fresh in my mind, and it just came out of my mouth. But I didn't mean to offend anybody. I didn't. I didn't mean any harm."      

       The Post's Page Six said Berry even offered to contact the paper's source and apologize in person.      

       "It was just a lighthearted segment that was meant to make fun of myself," Berry said. "There was a picture where I said I looked like Monica Lewinsky and one where I said I looked like Jay. It was just supposed to be a silly segment. I am so sorry, and I apologize."

Halle Berry's Edited Appearance on "The Tonight Show"