Liam Neeson says he walked the streets hoping to 'kill' a black man after family member was raped
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Liam Neeson said in a bizarre new interview that he once walked the streets armed with a club for a week in hopes of killing a black man after a family member told him she was raped by a black male.
In an interview with The Independent published Monday, the veteran actor recalled an incident where he harbored racist thoughts after a member of his family told him she was raped.
"There’s something primal – God forbid you’ve ever had a member of your family hurt under criminal conditions," the actor began the story, which he said he has never before shared.
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The "Taken" actor said he had returned home from overseas when his family member told him she had been sexually assaulted.
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"My immediate reaction was," Neeson said before pausing. "I asked, did she know who it was? No. What color were they? She said it was a black person."
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Neeson said he then "went up and down areas" with a baton "hoping I’d be approached by somebody." Neeson admitted he is "ashamed" by his actions.
"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," – he paused again – "kill him."
According to the interviewer, Neeson knows how "shocking" and "appalling" his story is.
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"It was horrible, horrible, when I think back, that I did that,” he says. “And I’ve never admitted that, and I’m saying it to a journalist. God forbid," the 66-year-old actor said.
A rep for Neeson did not return Fox News' request for comment.
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The interview was pegged to Neeson's upcoming film "Cold Pursuit." His co-star Tom Bateman chimed in, "Holy s--t."
Neeson responded: "It’s awful. But I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, ‘What the f--k are you doing,’ you know?"