Yesterday, an interview was published with actor Liam Neeson that shocked the world. In a moment of complete candor, the actor opened up about this time in his life where he was so distraught over the recent brutal rape of his dear friend, allegedly by a Black man, that he would go to Black neighborhoods to pick a fight and try to kill someone. As you might expect, this confession drew outrage from folks calling Neeson a racist. However, in a new interview this morning on “Good Morning America,” the actor doesn’t deny the story, but says without a doubt that he is not a racist.
“I had never felt this feeling before which was a primal urge to lash out,” Neeson said.
“After [learning of the rape] there were some nights I went out deliberately into black areas in the city looking to be set upon so that I could unleash physical violence,” he said. “And I did it for maybe four or five times until I caught myself on, and it really shocked me, this primal urge I had. It shocked me, and it hurt me. I did seek help.”
The actor continued by describing the “help” he sought out, which included his priest and a couple of close friends.
“I’m not racist,” he said. “This was nearly 40 years ago.”
Of course, Neeson was asked if his anger or actions would have been different if he found out the rapist wasn’t Black.
“If she has said an Irish, or a Scot, or a Brit, or a Lithuanian, I know I would’ve felt the same effect,” the actor said. “I was trying to… stand up for my dear friend in this terrible medieval fashion. I’m a fairly intelligent guy, that’s why it kind of shocked me when I came down to Earth after having these horrible feelings. Luckily no violence occurred – ever. Thanks be to God.”
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“That was my feeling, that I did want to lash out, yes, because my friend was brutally raped and I thought I was defending her honor,” Neeson revealed when he was asked if he would have carried out his plan for violence.
The actor also took the time to say that he believes that prejudice and racism exist all over the world and even with people who claim to have no racist thoughts.
“We all pretend we’re kind of politically correct. I mean, in this country, it’s the same in my own country too, you sometimes just scratch the surface and you discover this racism and bigotry, and it’s there,” he said.
“Violence breeds violence,” he concluded. “Bigotry breeds bigotry.”
