Liam Neeson faces backlash after shocking revenge confession

Fans are both angered and confused by comments Liam Neeson has made about race and wanting revenge in a new interview.

While promoting his upcoming thriller, Cold Pursuit, in which he plays a man seeking revenge against drug dealers he thinks killed his son, the Irish actor revealed that he once sought revenge himself.

Neeson, 66, made the admission while talking about how his character turns to anger and said there’s “something primal” about that reaction when “you’ve … had a member of your family hurt under criminal conditions,” he told UK outlet the Independent.

Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson has made a shocking confession. (Photo: Getty Images)

He then detailed how, after a woman he knew was raped, he asked her the race of the alleged perpetrator, and then, for a week, walked the streets, armed with a weapon, in hopes that he could “kill” a “black bastard” in retaliation.

So Neeson went on to say he “went up and down areas with a cosh [a thick, heavy stick used as a weapon] hoping I’d be approached by somebody — I’m ashamed to say that — and I did it for maybe a week, hoping some [gestures air quotes] ‘black bastard’ would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could,” he paused, “kill him.”

He went on to admit what he thought was “horrible, horrible”.

His co-star in the film, Tom Bateman, was with him during the interview and reacted by saying, “Holy s***”. But Neeson said he learnt from the situation.

His shocking comments were immediately called out as racist on Twitter.

Many talked about his racist reaction to the situation and why he asked for just the alleged perpetrator’s skin colour.
Many felt there was no lesson to be learned from what he said.
For many, this story is another example of the mistreatment of the black community.
There was also a lot of confusion as to why Neeson would tell this story in the first place.
Either way, there are many calls for his cancellation.

A rep for Neeson has not yet responded to our request for comment.

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