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The opening of the New York Red Carpet of Liam Neeson's latest film was canceled after stating that he once wanted to kill a black man at random after a friend's rape.
Journalists were informed that the event for Cold Pursuit had been removed two hours before the scheduled time.
Neeson denied being racist, but Monday's Independent's remarks sparked an uproar.
He said he wanted to start a wider discussion on racism.
The organizers of the event on the red carpet said that there would be no photographs or interviews at the screening in New York.
What exactly did Neeson say?
He spoke to promote Cold Pursuit, a revenge thriller.
He stated that the alleged rape had taken place a long time ago and that he learned on his return from a trip abroad. The actor then used offensive racist language about the attacker.
He said: "She handled the rape situation in the most extraordinary way.
"But my immediate reaction was … did I ask if she knew who it was? No. What color were they? She said that it was a black person.
"I went up and down with a group, hoping that someone would approach me – I'm ashamed to say it – and I did it for maybe a week, Hoping that [uses air quotes with fingers] "Black bastard" would come out of a pub and attack me for something, you know? So that I can kill him. "
How did he react later?
After much criticism, he told ABC: "I'm not racist."
When asked what he wanted people to learn from his experience, he said to the facilitator, "To speak, to open.
"We all claim that we are all politically correct in this country … in mine too, sometimes you only touch the surface and you discover this racism and fanaticism, and it is there. "
He said that learning that his friend had been raped about 40 years ago – she has since died – gave her "prime desire to take it to himself".
The actor said that he "was deliberately made in the dark areas of the city seeking to be arrested so that I could unleash the physical violence."
He reportedly said that he would have acted the same if his friend's badailant had been white but that he had also been "shocked" by his response.
How did the others respond?
Gary Younge of The Guardian wrote: "The next time someone asks me why I have a chip on my shoulder, I no longer need to sweep the question with disdain.
"I can honestly say," Because there may well be an Oscar nominated actor who wants to kill me, so I have to be vigilant at all times. "
Kehinde Andrews, a professor of black studies at the University of Birmingham City, told BBC Neeson that his comments were "totally inappropriate and offensive" and that it was "unpleasant" to them. do in promoting a movie.
Playwright and author Bonnie Greer said Neeson had probably "paid for his career".
However, John Barnes, a former footballer and anti-racist activist in England, defended Neeson during an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live.
"He was ashamed for a week, he understood that he was wrong to think what he did, and we must have this conversation."
Many social media have also had their say since the story started on Monday.
Being upset has attacked your family, that's understandable, but targeting innocent black men for a week with a weapon, while you did not even know that the WHO had done it, was racist. Do you know how many innocent blacks have lost their lives in the past for such things? THIS IS NOT OK.
– TheSafePlace (@ItsTheSafePlace) February 4, 2019
End of @ItsTheSafePlace's post
Frederick Joseph, who works for better portrayal in the media, wrote that Neeson's story "shows how black life without meaning and without consequence is for some".
Liam Neeson is ready to face what one of them would have done by a dark life, which shows how dark life is insignificant and of no consequence to some.
Even telling him the story demonstrates a level of privilege and underestimating that there might not be any repercussions.
– Frederic Joseph (@FredTJoseph) February 4, 2019
End of @FredTJoseph's Twitter post
But some agreed with Barnes that Neeson should not be criticized for admitting such thoughts, but realizing that they were wrong and saying that he had learned them.
Liam Neeson had a terrible impulse on which he had not acted, that he knew to be terrible and that he had learned from him. If we are going to cancel people who have been incited to act badly or have trouble solving a problem before coming to the right conclusion … well, we are going to be busy.
– Eric D. Snider (@EricDSnider) February 4, 2019
End of Twitter post by @EricDSnider
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