In a recent interview, Liam Neeson recounted his brief desire for revenge against a man who allegedly raped someone close to him — an admission that drew swift criticism for the celebrated star Monday because of its violent and discriminatory nature.

Without identifying the rape survivor, the actor said that upon learning of the sexual assault some time ago, he immediately asked the victim who her assailant was and “what color were they.” Upon learning he was black, Neeson took to the streets to kill the man — or any random person he thought fit the racial description.

Published Monday, the disturbing revelation was made in an interview with the British newspaper the Independent during a news junket for the action star’s upcoming film, “Cold Pursuit,” about three weeks ago.Perhaps to illuminate his character’s modus operandi, Neeson recounted the tale, which described the “primal need” for violence.

“I asked, did she know who it was? No. What color were they? She said it was a black person,” the 66-year-old said, according to an audio recording of the actor. “I went up and down areas with a cosh [a bludgeon], 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? So that I could … kill him.”


At the time, the “Taken” star said he would just tell the rape survivor that he was going out for a walk.

“It was horrible, horrible, when I think back, that I did that,” Neeson said. “And I’ve never admitted that, and I’m saying it to a journalist. God forbid.”

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Liam Neeson talks about his transition to action star »

Neeson, whose costar Tom Bateman was also present during the interview, tried to convey some remorse and said he eventually came to and learned a lesson. He added that because he grew up in embattled Northern Ireland, he understands “that need for revenge.”


“But it just leads to more revenge, to more killing and more killing, and Northern Ireland’s proof of that. All this stuff that’s happening in the world, the violence, is proof of that, you know. But that primal need, I understand,” he said.

Neeson’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for a comment on Monday.

Twitter users both harangued and criticized the action star on Monday for sharing the story. Here’s a sampling of their reactions.

Hmmmm. Reminds me of a time I got provoked by a rich white guy I didn’t know. Hoping I would do something.



Thank God I never took the bait. https://t.co/9OIka9vBRx — terry crews (@terrycrews) February 4, 2019


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 understating that there may not be repercussions. — Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) February 4, 2019

How Black Twitter looking at Liam Neeson right now pic.twitter.com/954ysnx3ck — Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) February 4, 2019

Liam Neeson is definitely a reminder that there are folks who walk around hoping to provoke Black people so they can kill us.



A lot of them are in law enforcement and politics. — George M Johnson (@IamGMJohnson) February 4, 2019

Well, I've seen it all now. Liam Neeson admitted to going around trying to find a black person to kill because someone he was close to got raped by a black person, and the journalist spoke to a psychologist to help contextualise his racism and included it in the article? WILD. — Elizabeth Pears (@BizPears) February 4, 2019


Liam Neeson 1) says he wanted to kill a random black man over an unrelated crime 2) thought this was an anecdote he could share to promote his movie https://t.co/lVG2N2IbpN — ishmael n. daro (@iD4RO) February 4, 2019

Remember, Liam Neeson wanting to carry out an attack on a Black man, was racist AND hetero-phobic. So you all can’t leave out the intersection of heterophobia and race that cis gendered Black men face. — Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) February 4, 2019

remember when the viral Liam Neeson story was that a nice horse recognized him — David Sims (@davidlsims) February 4, 2019

* Sees why Liam Neeson is trending*

Me, at first: OK, maybe they're blowing this thing out of proportion, I mean, how bad could it be?



*reads Liam Neeson's* interview*

Me, at this moment: pic.twitter.com/XDWStZNdlT — Just Juanita (@Sw33tH3art666) February 4, 2019


Liam Neeson's publicist this morning: pic.twitter.com/OuLKLHlEBk — Ξvan Ross Katz (@evanrosskatz) February 4, 2019

peter farrelly optioning the liam neeson story — in theaters july 2021 — hunter harris (@hunteryharris) February 4, 2019

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