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Red carpet CANCELLED for Liam Neeson's film amid controversy
Liam Neeson's racism controversy isn't showing any signs of dissipating, as the red carpet events before the New York premiere of his latest film have been cancelled.
Just one day after the interview was shared involving the actor describing his revenge plot against a "black b*astard" for the rape of his friend, the Cold Pursuit promotion has ended.
He went on Good Morning America yesterday to try and explain the remarks, which he made during an interview with The Independent, saying; "I'm not a racist."
While on @GMA, Liam Neeson discussed the comments he made in a recent interview that created a firestorm: "I'm not a racist." pic.twitter.com/TnL53zVYan
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 5, 2019
His comments have been met with huge outrage since Monday, and has drawn condemnation from civil rights activists for their racist tones.
The Taken actor has said that the episode roughly occurred 40 years ago, after hearing that a close friend had been raped by a black assailant.
"After that there were some nights when I went out deliberately into black areas in the city looking to be set upon so that I could unleash physical violence," Mr. Neeson said. "And I did it for, I'd say, maybe four or five times."
Football legend @officialbarnesy says he thinks actor Liam Neeson "deserves a medal" for his honesty about once having violent thoughts about killing a black person.
Latest on the fallout from the actor's comments here: https://t.co/8Fj7hBJVdU pic.twitter.com/iM111RXL6G
— (@SkyNews) February 6, 2019
The interviewer on Good Morning America, Robin Roberts, who is African-American, told Mr. Neeson, "You have to understand the pain of a black person hearing what you said."
Mr. Neeson replied: "You're absolutely right, and at the time, even though it was 40 years ago, I didn't think about that. All those things surprised me, but it was this primal hatred, I guess, that really, really shocked me when I eventually came down to earth and saw what I was doing — going out and looking for a fight."
Yesterday's red carpet events, which would have allowed Mr. Neeson and his co-stars to talk to reporters, cameras and more questions, were cancelled hours before they were scheduled to begin, according to a spokesman for Lionsgate, who wouldn't make a statement about the actor's remarks.
The premiere of Liam Neeson's film was cancelled last night, amid backlash for speaking about wanting to kill a 'black man' for the revenge of a friend's rape.
Kevin Maguire says it was the right thing to do, and his comments shouldn't be swept under the rug.@Kevin_Maguire pic.twitter.com/WP8ageT25k
— (@GMB) February 6, 2019
In his interview with Good Morning America, Neeson said he would have responded with a similar "primal urge" if his friend's attacker had been white, and also linked his urge for violence to his time growing up in The Troubles of Northern Ireland.
"If she would have said an Irish or a Scot or a Brit or a Lithuanian, I know I would have had the same effect," Mr. Neeson said on Tuesday, referring to his friend. "I was trying to show honour to my- stand up for my dear friend in this terrible, medieval fashion."
A post shared by LIAM NEESON FAN (@liam.neeson.original) on Feb 5, 2019 at 6:13am PST
He power-walked and spoke to a Catholic priest to try and overcome his anger about his friend's horrible victimisation; the friend passed away five years ago.
Mr. Neeson said the episode 40 years ago had taught him that violence and revenge only lead to more violence and revenge. He said the uproar this week had taught him something, too.
"We all pretend we're politically correct, but in this country, it's the same in my own country, too, but sometimes you just scratch the surface and you discover this racism and bigotry," he said. "It's there."
Feature image; stuff.co.nz
black bastard
cold pursuit
tom bateman
'I'm not racist, I was brought up in The Troubles': Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson has had to defend himself against the racist remarks he made in an interview in The Independent, which was released yesterday.
The Cold Pursuit actor spoke of roaming the streets with a cosh, hoping to murder a "black bastard" after a woman close to him was raped years ago.
Speaking on Good Morning America, he said; "I'm not racist, this was 40 years ago. I was brought up in the north of Ireland. The Troubles. The Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. There was a war going on in the north of Ireland."
"I had acquaintances who were involved in the trouble. The bigotry. One Catholic would be killed, the next day a protestant would be killed. I grew up surrounded by that, but I was never surrounded by it," he said.
RIGHT NOW ON @GMA: Liam Neeson LIVE. pic.twitter.com/V7mUpHUenw
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 5, 2019
The original article featured the Taken actor recalling being told about a friend's rape after he returned from a trip overseas.
"She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way," Neeson said. "But my immediate reaction was… did she know who it was? No. What colour were they? She said it was a black person."
"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 (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."
A post shared by (@liam.neeson.original) on Feb 1, 2019 at 12:16pm PST
Neeson claimed it took him at least a week to process the incident, and anger was his first instinct.
"It was horrible, horrible, when I think back, that I did that," he said. "It's awful. But I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, 'What the f*ck are you doing', you know?"
The actor brought up the personal anecdote after being asked to give more insight into his Cold Pursuit character Nels Coxman, who seeks revenge after his son is killed by a drug gang.
The internet went into a meltdown after the interview was published, with the majority of social media users accusing him of racism.
Hmmmm. Reminds me of a time I got provoked by a rich white guy I didn't know. Hoping I would do something.
Thank God I never took the bait. https://t.co/9OIka9vBRx
— terry crews (@terrycrews) February 4, 2019
One Twitter user wrote: "Liam Neeson being ready to take any black life over what one person allegedly did just shows how meaningless and inconsequential black lives are to some."
They continued; "Even him telling the story demonstrates a level of privilege and understanding that there may not be repercussions."
Actor Terry Crews, who is the host of America's Got Talent and star of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, wrote on social media:
"Reminds me of a time I got provoked by a rich white guy I didn't know. Hoping I would do something." He has been an advocate for domestic violence and sexual violence victims.
This morning Ryan Tubridy once more described Liam Neeson's comments on ("a witch hunt") as 'frank & refreshing', & his comments on intending violence against *any* black man as 'something you might say over a coffee', in you were wondering how RTE's mission was going.
(@betaburns) February 5, 2019
RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy chose to defend Liam Neeson today, saying that the actor didn't mean any harm;
"I don't think for one minute that Liam Neeson ever wanted to kill anybody, or would ever harm anyone, or really actually meant it at all. 'However, "you just can't say that kind of thing" is what I suspect is going to be the response to that."
He continued;
"Having met him several times, it's the sort of thing that he might have said over a coffee to somebody privately, but he kind of let it out into the public and that poses a serious problem for him, I suspect, in Hollywood particularly, with all the sensitivities you'd expect and that are rightly there. It's a conundrum for him."
John Barnes getting a lot of praise for his comments on Sky News. On calls to boycott Liam Neeson's films and strip him of his OBE: "Let's take down that statue of Wintson Churchill, who is a white supremacist and a mass murderer" pic.twitter.com/0SaKeCCUHo
—(@RadioCleary) February 5, 2019
Former England footballer has also defended the star, calling out other heroes in society who were less than angelic when it came to race (Hi, Winston Churchill) and praising his admission of guilt.
Piers Morgan has branded him a member of the KKK, so he must be in pretty scalding water right now.
What are your thoughts on the debate; Is he shining an important light on the racist instincts present in society, specifically straight, white men? Or is he cancelled? The jury's still out.
Feature image: ABC7.com
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