Piers Morgan compares Liam Neeson's 'so racist' comments to the KKK
Piers Morgan has hit out at Liam Neeson after he sparked outrage for admitting he once wanted to kill a black man in a revenge attack, comparing his comments to something the Ku Klux Klan would say.
The Taken actor stunned the world after revealing in an interview with The Independent that he once wandered the streets looking for a “black b*****d” to kill in retaliation to one of his close friends being raped.
In sheer disbelief at Neeson’s comments, Morgan said on Tuesday’s episode of Good Morning Britain that he didn’t know ‘what possessed him to tell this story’ and he thinks the outrage is ‘fully justified’.
“The only parallel I can think of is Mel Gibson who said some horrendous things to his Russian girlfriend or wife at the time,” he said. “He was very racist when he said it.
“The only difference here with Liam Neeson is he’s talking about himself and his own thought process, which was for an entire week not a moment of madness but a seven-day rampage around the streets waiting to for any black person to say the wrong thing so he could kill him.”
Morgan added that he thinks Neeson’s acting career could be over before comparing his comments to something the KKK would say.
“I can’t think of anything more staggering that’s come out of a movie star’s mouth. I would be very surprised if Liam Neeson’s career is not now in very serious trouble.’
“If I was a black person, I would not want to see this guy’s movies. So racist. It’s like Ku Klux Klan stuff.’
Clemence Michallon, who conducted the interview for The Independent appeared on GMB to describe what it was like to hear the actor make those comments.
Liam Neeson has sparked outrage after he said he once spent a week walking the streets with a weapon, wanting to kill any black man who provoked him. He said this was out of revenge for a close friend who was raped. pic.twitter.com/1EALeBOGf5
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 5, 2019
“In the moment, it all went very fast. You do not go into a movie press junket expecting to hear that story,” Michallon said. “What I felt immediately was a strong sense of responsibility and duty to tell the story sensitively.”
She revealed that the actor willingly volunteered the story, which had apparently been hanging over him for some time.
On whether she thinks this could be career-ending for Neeson, she said: “People have reacted with obviously a lot of shock and outrage and we’re not surprised by this, the shock is justified.
“Liam is very stunned by his own thought process, whether or not it’s career-ending, I think it’s up to the studios and moviegoers to tell. It’s too early to call.”
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