Cold Pursuit (2019 Movie) Close this dialog window Streaming Options With Liam Neeson as Tuesday's guest, Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts dedicated her entire interview to addressing the racist revenge story the actor admitted to in a recent interview. "I'm not racist," Neeson said during the eight-minute discussion on ABC. "This was nearly 40 years ago." During the press tour for his new film Cold Pursuit, Neeson told U.K. publication The Independent that he once went out in Ireland to fulfill a revenge fantasy in the hopes of killing a black man after an unidentified person close to Neeson was raped by someone she says was black. "I remembered an incident nearly 40 years ago where a very dear friend of mine was brutally raped and I was out of the country," Neeson recounted again to Roberts. "And when I came back, she told me about this. She handled the situation with herself and the rapist incredibly bravely, I have to say that, but I had never felt this feeling before, which was a primal urge to lash out. I asked her, did you know the person? … No. His race? She said he was a black man." The actor said he then trolled "black areas in the city looking to be set upon" so he could "unleash physical violence." "I did it for, I'd say, maybe four or five times until I caught myself and it really shocked me, this primal urge I had," he said. "It shocked me and it hurt me." When initially published by The Independent, the story sparked outrage across the web. Neeson said he did "seek help" by going to his priest for confession and speaking with "two very very good friends." He also noted how he grew up "in the north of Ireland and [was] brought up in ‘The Troubles,'" the violent conflict between Irish nationalists, who were mostly Catholic and wanted the country to be separated from the U.K., and Irish unionists, who were mostly Protestant and wanted Ireland to remain. Roberts confronted Neeson about how he asked his friend about the color of her attacker and not his size, weight, and other features. Neeson said he did ask about those questions, though they didn't come up when he was initially telling the story. He further claimed he would've done the equivalent if his friend pointed to an Irishman as her attacker. "I was trying to show honor, to stand up for my dear friend in this terrible, medieval fashion," he said. "I'm a fairly intelligent guy so that's why it shocked me when I finally came down to earth." When asked what "the teachable moment" should be in this situation, Neeson hoped for others "to talk about these things," but then he turned the question back on Roberts. "You tell me what the teachable moment is," he said. "The one point I want to make out is that this wasn't discovered by somebody. You admitted this," she said. "This wasn't a gotcha [moment]. So I will give you credit there, but also having to acknowledge the hurt, even though it happened decades ago, the hurt of an innocent black man, knowing he could've been killed for something that he did not do because of the color of his skin." She added, "You have to also understand the pain of the a black person hearing what you said." Watch their full interview in the video above. Close this dialog window Streaming Options Related content:<doc-sep>The world is reacting to Liam Neeson’s follow-up interview after telling The Independent he once roamed the streets with a cosh, wanting to kill a “black bastard” after someone close to him was raped years ago. :: Read the original, exclusive interview that started a global conversation Neeson insisted he is not racist during the segment on Good Morning America that saw him interviewed by co-host Robin Roberts. He was scheduled to be on the show talking about new film Cold Pursuit and honoured the booking despite receiving devastating backlash for his remarks the day before. Speaking to the US breakfast show, Neeson said: “The lady journalist was asking me how do you tap into [his character's quest for revenge] and I remembered an incident... where a very dear friend of mine was brutally raped and I was out of the country and when I came back, she told me about this situation.” Liam Neeson through the years Show all 23 1 /23 Liam Neeson through the years Liam Neeson through the years March 1995 Liam Neeson stars In the movie ‘Rob Roy’ Getty Liam Neeson through the years October 1996 Neeson poses with co-star Aidan Quinn (right) and director Neil Jordan (left) at the Los Angeles premiere of their new movie ‘Michael Collins’ AFP/Getty Liam Neeson through the years March 2001 Neeson poses with the lightsaber he used in ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’ at the ‘Movie Action for Children’ auction AFP/Getty Liam Neeson through the years May 2002 Liam Neeson attends the Tony Award nominees brunch Getty Liam Neeson through the years July 2002 Neeson attends the world premiere of ‘K-19: The Widowmaker’ in Westwood, California Getty Liam Neeson through the years August 2003 Neeson films scenes from ‘Kinsey’ at Grand Central Station, New York Getty Liam Neeson through the years September 2004 Neeson after a press conference for the movie ‘Kinsey’ during the Toronto International Film Festival Getty Liam Neeson through the years May 2005 Samuel L Jackson (left) and Neeson (right) pose with Chewbacca at the premiere of ‘Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith’ Getty Liam Neeson through the years June 2005 Gary Oldman, Sir Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman and Neeson arrive at the premiere of ‘Batman Begins’ at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre Getty Liam Neeson through the years September 2006 Pierce Brosnan (left) and Neeson attend the ‘Seraphim Falls’ press conference during the Toronto International Film Festival Getty Liam Neeson through the years September 2008 Neeson poses by the river Thames before a screening of the action movie ‘Taken’ Getty Liam Neeson through the years June 2010 Neeson, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, director Joe Carnahan, Sharlto Copley, and Bradley Cooper arrive at the premiere of their movie ‘The A-Team’ Getty Liam Neeson through the years January 2011 Neeson at the premiere of ‘The Grey’ in Los Angeles Getty Liam Neeson through the years September 2012 Neeson poses next to the beach closet dedicated to him on the Promenade des Planches for the movie ‘Taken 2’ Getty Liam Neeson through the years February 2013 Neeson presents an award at the Oscars Getty Liam Neeson through the years February 2014 Neeson holds his character from ‘The Lego Movie’ as he attends the premiere in New York Getty Liam Neeson through the years February 2014 Actors Michelle Dockery, Lupita Nyong’o, Neeson and Julianne Moore attend the premiere of their movie ‘Non-Stop’ Getty Liam Neeson through the years November 2014 Maureen O’Hara accepts an Honorary Oscar from Clint Eastwood and Neeson Getty Liam Neeson through the years January 2015 Neeson signs posters as he attends a ‘Taken 3’ fan screening Getty Liam Neeson through the years February 2017 Neeson reprises his role from ‘Love Actually’ alongside Thomas Brodie-Sangster for Comic Relief’s ‘Red Nose Day Actually’ Getty Liam Neeson through the years September 2017 Neeson appears on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ Getty Liam Neeson through the years January 2018 Neeson attends the premiere of ‘The Commuter’ in New York Getty Liam Neeson through the years February 2018 Neeson speaks after receiving an award for his career during the Golden Camera awards ceremony in Hamburg AFP/Getty He told Roberts that he sought help from a priest after hoping to be "set upon" by a black man. Neeson added: "If she’d have said a Brit, a Scot, a Lithuanian I would have reacted the same. I was trying to show honour and stand up for my friend in this medieval fashion." Reactions on social media range from the disgusted to the supportive. Many felt that Roberts ruined her chance to fully grill Neeson on the topic, while others felt that Neeson "made it worse". One Twitter user felt that Neeson was being lured into saying something that could potentially be taken out of context. Neeson initially shared the personal story with The Independent after being asked to give more insight into his Cold Pursuit character Nels Coxman’s need for revenge after his son is killed by a drug gang. Following the interview’s publication, there was outrage online, with social media users accusing Neeson of racism. American film producer Tariq Nasheed said: “Keep in mind that Liam Neeson didn’t say he just has some ‘revenge fantasy’. He actually went out for a week LOOKING for a black person to kill, but he couldn’t find one.” One Twitter user wrote: “Liam Neeson being ready to take any black life over what one person allegedly did just shows how meaningless and inconsequential black lives are to some. “Even him telling the story demonstrates a level of privilege and understanding that there may not be repercussions. ✕ Liam Neeson: ‘I walked the streets with a cosh, hoping I’d be approached by a 'black b**tard' so that I could kill him’ Actor Terry Crews, former American football player who stars in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, wrote on social media: “Reminds me of a time I got provoked by a rich white guy I didn’t know. Hoping I would do something.”<doc-sep>UPDATE: The red carpet event for the New York premiere of Liam Neeson’s new film, Cold Pursuit, has been canceled, The New York Times reports. A spokesman for the film’s distributor, Lionsgate, confirmed the decision to call of the media-heavy event just hours before it was scheduled to take place Tuesday night. Neeson sparked controversy recently after he admitted to harboring a racist revenge fantasy nearly after a friend of his was raped. ** Liam Neeson appeared on Good Morning America Tuesday to discuss his controversial statements about a racist revenge fantasy he harbored decades ago after a friend of his was raped. “I’m not a racist,” Neeson told GMA‘s Robin Roberts. “This was nearly 40 years ago.” Neeson retold the story, which first appeared in an interview with The Independent after a journalist asked him how he tapped into roles centered around revenge (as in his upcoming film, Cold Pursuit). According to Neeson, after he learned that his friend’s attacker was black, he spent several nights walking around predominately black areas with a heavy stick, looking for conflict so that he could fight, and possibly kill. On GMA, Neeson spoke about the moment he finally realized what he was doing, saying, “It really shocked me, this primal urge I had. It shocked me and it hurt me. I did seek help, I went to a priest… I had two really good friends that I talked to. And believe it or not, power walking, to get rid of this.” Roberts pressed Neeson about the backlash to his Independent interview, noting one criticism in particular: that the actor apparently didn’t ask his friend for any other physical details about her attacker besides his race. Neeson clarified that he did ask about other physical attributes, and maintained that his reaction would’ve been the same had she been raped by anyone else. “I was trying to show honor, to stand up for my dear friend in this terrible medieval fashion,” he said. “I’m a fairly intelligent guy, and that’s why it kind of shocked me when I came down to earth after having these horrible feelings.” Towards the end of the interview, Roberts asked Neeson if he saw a teachable moment in both the story itself, and his decision to divulge it on his own accord. “To talk, to open up, to talk about these things,” Neeson replied. “We all pretend we’re all kind of ‘politically correct.’ In this country – and same in my own country, too – you sometimes just scratch the surface and you discover this racism and bigotry.”<doc-sep>
Liam Neeson appeared on "Good Morning America" Tuesday, to address an alarming interview in which he admitted to seeking to kill a black person to – in his mind – right the rape of his friend. Speaking with anchor Robin Roberts, the "Cold Pursuit" actor revisited the situation he found himself in about 40 years ago, which he opened up to Britain's The Independent about. "I had never felt this feeling before which was a primal urge to lash out," Neeson said on "GMA" after learning of his friend's assault, allegedly by a black man. "After that 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, I'd say, 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." Neeson said he turned to a priest, two good friends and power walking to work through his issues. "I'm not racist," he said. "This was nearly 40 years ago." Neeson clarified that he asked his loved one about the rapist's other attributes – besides race – and said that if she had been assaulted by a white man, he would've have the same reaction. "If she has said an Irish, or a Scot, or a Brit, or a Lithuanian, I know I would've felt the same effect. 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," he added. "Luckily no violence occurred – ever. Thanks be to God." When asked if he actually would've gone through with his devious plans, Neeson answered "Yes" without hesitation. "That was my feeling, that I did want to lash out, yes," he added, "because my friend was brutally raped and I thought I was defending her honor." Neeson hopes his confession will get people "to open up." "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 told Roberts. Neeson then asked Roberts what she believed the teachable moment is. "The one point I want to make out is this wasn't discovered by somebody, you admitted this... so I give you credit there," she said, "but also having to acknowledge the hurt, even though it happened decades ago, the hurt of an innocent black man, knowing he could've been killed, for something he did not do, because of the color of his skin." "I know that you're getting crucified in many ways for saying what you did," she added, "and you're not shying away, you're admitting that it was wrong, you've learned from that, but you have to also understand the pain of a black person hearing what you said." "Of course, absolutely," Neeson responded. "Violence breeds violence," he added, "Bigotry breeds bigotry." Wrapping up, Roberts thanked Neeson for appearing and having the discussion. In The Independent interview, which published online Monday, Neeson first shared he sought revenge after discovering someone close to him was raped. “She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way,” Neeson said to the newspaper. “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 (nightstick), 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?" he continued. "So that I could – kill him.” Neeson remembered the time with remorse. “It was horrible, horrible, when I think back, that I did that,” he told The Independent. “And I’ve never admitted that, and I’m saying it to a journalist. God forbid." Contributing: Jayme Deerwester More:Liam Neeson's nephew Ronan Sexton dies, years after serious fall