Liam Neeson appeared on Good Morning America this morning (Feb. 5) to promote his upcoming film, Cold Pursuit. During the televised interview, he also attempted to clarify his controversial comments made in a recent interview with The Independent.
During the interview which was published Monday (Feb. 4), he described a vengeance fantasy of his, which involved killing a ‘black bastard’ as revenge for the rape of his friend. His friend, who is now deceased, told him she was raped by a black man, which caused him to want to carry out an unprovoked attack.
“The lady journalist asked me how I tapped into that,” he said on GMA. “I remembered an incident nearly 40 years ago where a dear friend of mine was brutally raped. I was out of the country. When she came back she told me about this and she handled the situation herself with incredible bravery, I have to say that. I had never felt this feeling before, which was a primal urge to lash out.”
The Taken star said that after realizing how wrong the thoughts were, he sought help, and that he is not racist. He also detailed growing up during The Troubles Of Ireland, an ethno-nationalist conflict in the country, and the effects it had on him during that time.
“I went out deliberately into black areas in the city looking to be set upon so that I could unleash physical violence, and I did it for four or five times until I caught myself on,” he continued. “It shocked me, this primal urge I had. It shocked me. It hurt me. I did seek help. I went to a priest…I am not racist. This was nearly 40 years ago… I was brought up in the North of Ireland…in the 60s, 70s, early-80s… I was trying to stand up for my dear friend in this terrible, Medieval fashion.”
He is hoping that through this controversy, that people will acknowledge the issues the world faces in terms of racism, and to start talking to each other about race to create more teachable moments.
Watch his comments above.
