Liam Neeson profoundly apologises for stating he wanted to kill black man   Metro News
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Liam Neeson has apologised for .
The Taken star left fans shocked during a recent interview, when he revealed he purposefully walked the streets, armed with a cosh, after learning his pal had been attacked by a black b asterisk  asterisk  asterisk  asterisk  asterisk d.
And the 66 year old has now branded his reaction unacceptable.
Over the last several weeks, I have reflected on and spoken to a variety of people who were hurt by my impulsive recounting of a brutal rape of a dear female friend nearly 40 years ago and my unacceptable thoughts and actions at that time in response to this crime, .
The horror of what happened to my friend ignited irrational thoughts that do not represent the person I am.
In trying to explain those feelings today, I missed the point and hurt many people at a time when language is so often weaponized and an entire community of innocent people are targeted in acts of rage.
What I failed to realise is that this is not about justifying my anger all those years ago, it is also about the impact my words have today, he continued.
I was wrong to do what I did. I recognise that, although the comments I made do not reflect, in any way, my true feelings nor me, they were hurtful and divisive.
I profoundly apologise.
Liam sparked outrage at the beginning of the year, after he recounted the story of his friends rape during a press junket for his latest film, Cold Pursuit.
Speaking to the Independent, he said he carried a weapon with him after learning the attacker was a black man.
In the chat, he explained: I went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping Id be approached by somebody – Im ashamed to say that – and I did it for maybe a week, hoping some [Neeson gestures air quotes with his fingers] black bastard would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know?
So that I could… kill him.
Following intense backlash –  – the Love Actually star addressed the outrage, vowing he is not racist.
: We were doing a press junket and the topic of the film is revenge, its a dark comedy too.
The lady journalist was asking me how I tap into that and I remembered an incident nearly 40 years ago where a very dear friend of mine was brutally raped.
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I had never felt this feeling before which was a primal urge to lash out.
Im not racist, this was nearly 40 years ago. I was brought up in the north of Ireland, in the Troubles.
I had acquaintances who were involved in the Troubles, the bigotry. One Catholic would be killed, a Protestant would be killed. I grew up surrounded by that but I was never part of it.
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