Liam Neeson digs in over race rage comments
Liam Neeson has defended his account of wanting to kill an innocent black man in revenge for a friend’s rape, saying people should stop pretending to be politically correct.
The Hollywood actor shocked fans when he admitted he went out armed with a cosh to look for ‘‘a black b------’’ to kill. Yesterday, instead of going on a damage limitation exercise, the star went on breakfast television in the US to say he had simply been honest.
‘‘We all pretend we are all politically correct. In this country, it’s the same in my own country, you sometimes just scratch the surface and you discover this racism and bigotry,’’ he said. However, he insisted, ‘‘I’m not racist’’.
Neeson said the incident had happened nearly 40 years ago when ‘‘a very dear friend of mine was brutally raped’’. Asked why he had demanded to know the perpetrator’s colour, the 66-yearold said if she had said Irish or a Scot or a Brit or a Lithuanian, ‘‘I know it would have had the same effect.’’
Neeson told Good Morning America: ‘‘There were some nights I went out deliberately into black areas in this city looking to be set upon so that I could unleash physical violence. I was trying to show honour, to stand up for my dear friend in this terrible medieval fashion. I’m a fairly intelligent guy – that’s why it shocked me when I came down to Earth after having these terrible feelings. Luckily no violence occurred ever, thanks be to God.’’
He added: ‘‘I did seek help. I went to a priest to hear my confession – I was reared a Catholic. I had two very good friends I talked to. And, believe it or not, power-walking; two hours every day to get rid of this.’’ The woman in question died five years ago, he added.
He ended the interview urging fans to see Cold Pursuit, his latest film, where his character seeks revenge for his son’s murder. But in Britain, Janet Hills, chairman of the Metropolitan Black Police Association, found his comments ‘‘disappointing’’.
She said: ‘‘People take a different view as to whether he’s right or wrong, but when I align that with policing it’s why it’s so key that we use intelligence-led policing to identify individuals, and not profile a whole community with regard to criminal activities. There are specifics. In his case there was a specific person who committed that. It wasn’t just any black man on the streets,’’ she said.
Dr Zubaida Haque, of the Runnymede Trust, a race equality think tank, called Neeson a ‘‘racist nut-head’’.
She said: ‘‘We are looking at lynching stuff here, hunting for a random black man; to commit a racist murder. He was ready to blame an entire ethnic group to avenge an alleged rape of a friend.’’