Liam Neeson denies 'racist' backlash after comments about wanting to kill black man following friend's rape
The actor is addressing the backlash over his revelation that he wanted to 'kill' a black man after one of his family members was raped.
Calls for Liam Neeson to be removed from the upcoming “Men In Black” film are making the rounds on social media after the actor made highly controversial statements about wanting to find and kill a black person.
As previously reported, Neeson spoke in an interview where he revealed that he walked the streets with a "cosh" years ago hoping that a black man would accost him so that he could take out his anger over the recent rape of a close friend. The star appeared on “Good Morning America” to address the controversy, but fans far and wide felt he missed the mark once again.
LIAM NEESON EVENT CANNED AFTER ACTOR'S COMMENTS
“We were doing a press junket and the topic of our film was revenge," he said. "The lady journalist was asking, 'How do you tap into that?' and I remembered an incident nearly 40 years ago when a friend of mine was brutally raped I was out of the country and when I came back she told me about this ... I had never felt this feeling before which was a primal urge to lash out."
Following the remarks, a large contingent of critics took to Twitter to call for Neeson’s character in the upcoming “Men In Black International” to be digitally removed. The film takes place in the world of the first three “Men In Black” movies but stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson rather than any of the series’ original stars. Neeson plays one of the higher-up agents in the ranks, but several fans are asking for him to be given the boot.
“I really hope it’s not too late to digitally erase that racist f--- Liam Neeson from the new Men In Black movie,” one user wrote.
IS LIAM NEESON’S CAREER IN TROUBLE AFTER ADMITTING HE ONCE WANTED TO 'KILL' A BLACK MAN?
"Was really excited for Men in Black: International with @chrishemsworth & @TessaThompson_x. Was 1 of my most anticapated (sic) films for 2019. Hated his casting before the horrifying controversy, but now really hope it’s not too late to digitally erase racist f--- Liam Neeson from it," another said.
"You can literally hear Liam Neeson evaporating from all the upcoming Men in Black International marketing," wrote another.
"@MenInBlack boycott Men In Black the gutless coward Liam Neeson said he was walking around looking to kill an innocent black man who had nothing to do with his personal issues he's a gutless coward and a racist bigot boycott Men in Black," a more blunt user noted.
Others noted the parallel between Neeson's situation and the recent predicament the film "All The Money In The World" faced. When it was revealed that Kevin Spacey was caught up in a sexual misconduct scandal, actor Christopher Plummer was brought in to do reshoots on the film so as to remove the specter of Spacey entirely.
"I guess Sony pictures will soon be hiring Christopher Plummer to replace Liam Neeson in the upcoming Men In Black reboot," one user joked.
"Christopher Plummer is currently reshooting Liam Neeson's scenes in Men In Black International," said another.
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