Liam Neeson has said that he is not racist after outrage emerged over recent comments.
The actor recently said in an interview that he wanted to seek revenge on a black man after hearing that someone close to him had been raped.
“If she had said an Irish or a Scot or a Brit or a Lithuanian I would – I know I would – have had the same effect. I was trying to show honour, to stand up for my dear friend in this terribly medieval fashion,” he said.
He told ABC his actions ‘shocked’ and ‘hurt’ him.
“I did seek help,” he revealed.
The Taken star said that he spoke to a priest and confided in two close friends and found powerwalking helpful for his anger.
Speaking on Good Morning America, Neeson added: “I’m not a racist.”
Liam caused controversy this week when he revealed comments about him seeking revenge for an attack.
When speaking on the topic of revenge, Liam told a story of how he reacted after learning of a close friend’s rape.
“She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way,” he told the Independent.
“But my immediate reaction was… did she know who it was? No. What colour were they? She said it was a black person.”
He added: “I went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping I’d be approached by somebody. I’m ashamed to say that, and I did it for maybe a week – hoping some [gestured air quotes] ‘black b******’ would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him.”
