The shocking story continues to unfold.
Liam Neeson appeared on ABC’s popular morning show Good Morning America on Tuesday morning, to speak about shocking comments he made in an interview with the UK Independent, published on Monday.
Neeson attracted a major backlash yesterday when he admitted that in his youth, he had roamed the streets in the hopes of a confrontation with a black person, following his friend’s sexual assault by a black person.
This morning, Neeson reiterated the disturbing story, saying: “I remember an incident, nearly 40 years ago, where a very dear friend of mine was brutally raped and 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. I asked her did you know the man, his race, she said he was a black man. I thought ‘okay.’ And after that there were some nights I went out deliberately in to black areas in the city looking to be set upon so that I could unleash physical violence and I did it for… maybe four or five times. Until I caught myself on.”
Neeson said that he sought help from a priest, to whom he gave his confession.
The Schindler’s List actor maintained that he is not a racist, and argued that “If she had said he was Irish, or a Scot, or a Brit or a Lithuanian, I know it would have had the same effect. I was trying to show honour, stand up for my friend in this terrible, medieval fashion.”
Asked what he thought the “teachable moment” is from his story, Neeson said “It’s important for people to open up, to talk about these things. Sometimes you scratch the surface and discover this racism, this bigotry, and it’s there.”
Host Robin Roberts did her best to explain the situation, saying: “This wasn’t discovered by somebody, you admitted this, so I give you credit there. But also having to acknowledge the hurt of an innocent black man knowing he could have been killed for something he did not know.”
“You have to understand the pain of a black person hearing what you said.”
Neeson responded by saying “You’re right, and at the time I didn’t think about that. It was a primal hatred that really shocked me.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
