A regretful Kiefer Sutherland took a giant step toward clearing his name yesterday.

During an appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night program, the 24 actor briefly addressed the head-butting incident that occurred back on May 5. Although he wasn’t able to elaborate on the circumstances, Sutherland seemed sincerely ashamed for his actions.

“Now last time I saw you, we went out to dinner and then, uh, something…what happened?” Fallon asked. “I just want to know, how close was I from being on the receiving end?”

“We can joke about it, I guess, but it’s something I really regret having happened,” Sutherland responded.

Since that appearance last night, it’s been reported that Kiefer and the victim of his forehead tap (designer Jack McCollough) have since put things to rest. If so, this could mean an entire dismissal of his misdemeanor case (the 44-year-old had been scheduled to appear in court on June 22) and an uninterrupted start of 24.