Liam Neeson Appears on 'Good Morning America' To Clarify Revenge Comments | THR News - video Dailymotion

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Liam Neeson appeared Tuesday on 'Good Morning America' and during his visit he discussed comments made in a recent interview that created a firestorm.

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00:00That was my feeling, that I did want to lash out, yes, because my friend was brutally

00:05raped and I thought I was defending her honor.

00:08On Tuesday, Liam Neeson appeared on Good Morning America to promote his latest

00:12film, Cold Pursuit, and inevitably the conversation turned to comments that he

00:16made previously when speaking to The Independent, in which he said that 40 years

00:20ago he wanted to unleash physical violence against a random black man after a close

00:25friend revealed she had been brutally raped. The remarks made by the Oscar-nominated

00:29actor immediately caused backlash, particularly in the African-American

00:32community. Speaking to GMA's Robin Roberts, Neeson said,

00:36"...I'm not a racist," before explaining that he had felt a primal urge to lash out

00:40before he knew any information about her attacker. The friend told him the unknown

00:44assailant was black.

00:46I went out deliberately into black areas in this city looking to be set upon so that I

00:56could unleash physical violence. The actor explained that he did this maybe four or five

01:03times before saying, "...it shocked me and it hurt me. I did seek help. I went to the priest."

01:11Neeson made it clear that the man's race had no bearing on his reaction and that he would

01:15have sought revenge on whomever had attacked his friend, regardless of his ethnicity.

01:20"...I was trying to show honor, to stand up for my dear friend in this terrible medieval fashion,"

01:25Neeson told Roberts.

01:26"...and I'm a fairly intelligent guy and that's why it kind of shocked me when I came

01:31down to earth after having these horrible feelings."

01:35When asked by Roberts if he would have really gone through with violence, potentially even murder,

01:39if a black man who had nothing to do with his friend provoked him, Neeson replied,

01:43yes. Ultimately, the actor said he hoped the matter could be turned into a teachable moment

01:48and that broader conversations could take place to stamp out true racism and bigotry.

01:53To read more on this story, head to THR.com.

01:56For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.

Liam Neeson Appears on 'Good Morning America' To Clarify Revenge Comments | THR News

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