People are shocked by this racist impulse from Liam Neeson’s past
However exciting or glamorous it may look from the outside, it must be a bit dull at times having to interview people who are plugging a project – a book, a film, a TV series – but it’s also true that some stars know how to throw in a curve ball. When the Independent nabbed an exclusive interview with Liam Neeson, who is promoting his new and very violent thriller, Cold Pursuit, they can’t have expected the dark place the actor would take it.
In a segment that requires a trigger warning, the actor brought up an incident from his youth, when he acted in a way that now makes him feel ashamed. He described his response to hearing of a friend’s terrible experience of having been raped:
“My immediate reaction was…I asked, did she know who it was? No. What colour 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 [Neeson gestures air quotes with his fingers] ‘black bastard’ would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him.”
He went on to explain how he had rightly come to be shocked by those thoughts and feelings.
“It’s awful but I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, ‘What the fuck are you doing,’ you know?”
The quote was widely shared, with people astonished at his comment and keen to voice the disturbing issues raised.
Liam Neeson is definitely a reminder that there are folks who walk around hoping to provoke Black people so they can kill us.
A lot of them are in law enforcement and politics.
— George M Johnson (@IamGMJohnson) February 4, 2019
I just read the piece. I AM SHOOK, but also not surprised. But to be honest, it just outs him as an incredibly shallow-minded person. I wonder, if his friend had been raped by a white man, he'd have the same attitude towards all white people? Probably not.
— Jessica Noah Morgan (@jnoahmorgan) February 4, 2019
I'm like…. very weird props to him for admitting and (I assume) learning from it, and on the other hand holy crap that was incredibly racist and I'm really disappointed.
— Lindsay 🏳️🌈 (@LindsayPB) February 4, 2019
I am mortified by Liam Neeson
— Marian Keyes (@MarianKeyes) February 4, 2019
fucking hell though, imagine being that rape survivor and having Liam Neeson make your trauma all about him AND have him just fucking fart racism all over the shop on top of that. I truly hope she's fictional, and if not, I fucking hope she's OK.
— Another Angry Woman (@stavvers) February 4, 2019
Piers Morgan wondered why he had shared this astonishing anecdote.
This is so odd.
And unsettling.
And if he is quoted accurately, racist.
Why would he say it? https://t.co/1GuZt32IHX— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 4, 2019
He received some replies in defence of the actor:
Slow down. He recalled how he felt years ago and did so with regret. The racist term he used was how he thought at that moment, not now. It actually shows growth and is a good example of why one should avoid violence and hate. The youth today would benefit from such things.
— Joe Plant (@Joseph_Plant) February 4, 2019
He was honestly admitting to a shameful impulse he had long ago which he learned from. Kudos to Liam. He wouldn't have brought it up he still felt that way.
— V.M. Varga (@thomasfishers) February 4, 2019
However, it remained difficult to get beyond this fact.
That Liam Neeson interview is just so saddening (and yes, still racist). It reinforces the idea that people of colour, and especially black men, are collectively responsible for the misdeeds of one. And that when a woman is sexually violated, it's a man who is left truly wounded.
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) February 4, 2019
