Liam Neeson is well-known for his vengeful characters in movies like "Taken" and upcoming release "Cold Pursuit," but the actor's most recent account of his own tale of revenge has fans and social media buzzing.
Neeson told The Independent in an interview that when he heard a loved one had been raped, he sought revenge by taking to the streets and looking for a black person to kill.
Really.
"She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way,” Neeson said in the interview from the British news outlet. “But my immediate reaction was … I asked, did she know who it was? No. What color 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 ‘black bastard’ would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could ... kill him.”
Responses on social media ranged from criticism and praise to jokes.
In fact, it was very brave of Liam Neeson to make the comment that he's had racist feelings in the past and that he even stupidly and horribly acted upon them. That's what a real adult does. To attack him for it means you're not serious about ending racism at all.
— Matt Janovic is not the Comte de St. Germain (@MJanovic) February 4, 2019
no one:
Liam Neeson: "any-fucking-way I once contemplated murdering a random Black guy on the street"
— JuanPa (@jpbrammer) February 4, 2019
So let me get this straight: Liam Neeson DIDNT commit a crime, feels BAD about the way ge thought and TALKS about those feelings back then where the entire thing regarding blacks was the fact that a black guy was the rapist and you all act like he slaughtered a black guy? Wtf. https://t.co/O0wqLmXzAq
— Brave New World (@LukefromGer) February 4, 2019
Reaction when I found out the reason why Liam Neeson is trending... pic.twitter.com/5dgkORyRxV
— Mirandah (@ForevorEndeavor) February 4, 2019
Me: Woah Liam Neeson is trending! Let's see why!
Me five seconds later: pic.twitter.com/2AqMsP0elT
— 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚝 (@listentoscout) February 4, 2019
So Liam Neeson’s response to a loved one being raped was to:
1. Ask the race of the assailant, which tells us his racism was deep rooted before the assault.
2. Roam through (presumably) black neighborhoods in hopes of provoking a black person so that he could murder them. pic.twitter.com/5C4PBWVSWY
— rocket juju (@juliacraven) February 4, 2019
liam neeson's publicist: https://t.co/WJe9jC0wM7
— hunter harris (@hunteryharris) February 4, 2019
Neeson continued to say in the interview that though he trolled the streets for a little more than a week seeking revenge, he did come to his senses and realize how awful his behavior was.
"It’s awful,” Neeson said. “But I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, ‘What the (expletive) are you doing,’ you know?”
Neeson's latest film, "Cold Pursuit," opens February 8 in theaters nationwide.
You can read the full article and interview here .