Liam Neeson admits to racist murder fantasy, sparks fan outrage

UNKNOWN, Liam Neeson, 2011. ph: Jay Maidment/©Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection
Photo: Everett Collection

Liam Neeson made a stunning and disturbing admission during a press junket promoting his upcoming revenge thriller Cold Pursuit.

In a conversation with The Independent, the veteran actor said that years ago, an unidentified person close to him was raped by a man she said was black. The actor admitted he then went on walking excursions while carrying a blunt weapon hoping to be attacked by a black man so he could “kill him” in revenge.

“She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way,” Neeson said. “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 [slang for a blackjack, bludgeon, or similar weapon], 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,” another pause, “kill him.”

The Taken franchise actor went on to add that, “It took me a week, maybe a week and a half, to go through that” and “It was horrible, horrible, when I think back, that I did that. And I’ve never admitted that, and I’m saying it to a journalist … But I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, ‘What the f— are you doing,’ you know.'”

A representative for Neeson did not immediately reply to EW’s request for additional comment.

The confession has drawn intense criticism online:

Read the full The Independent article here.

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