Liam Neeson releases new apology for racist revenge story

Liam Neeson is offering a fresh apology nearly two months after admitting he once contemplated a racist murder.

The actor in early February said in a stunning interview that decades earlier, after a friend of his was raped by a black man, he roamed the streets with a weapon hoping a random black man would start a fight with him so he could kill him.

On Friday, Neeson said he has since "spoken to a variety of people who were hurt by my impulsive recounting" of "unacceptable thoughts," saying that "in trying to explain those feelings today, I missed the point and hurt many people at a time when language is so often weaponized and an entire community of innocent people are targeted in acts of rage," per Deadline.

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Neeson also said that he "failed to realize" the "impact my words have today," adding that his "hurtful and divisive" comments "do not reflect ... my true feelings nor me" and that "I profoundly apologize."

In the original interview, Neeson had presented the story, which he offered completely unprompted, as something that he was ashamed of as a way of describing the themes of his revenge thriller Cold Pursuit. He then spent much of the press tour apologizing and explaining why he is "not racist," telling Good Morning America that this was a "primal urge to lash out" and that "luckily no violence occurred."