“Star Wars” creator George Lucas issued a statement on Thursday in the wake of controversial remarks he made in an interview with PBS host Charlie Rose comparing new Lucasfilm owner Disney to “white slavers.”

“I want to clarify my interview on the Charlie Rose Show. It was for the Kennedy Center Honors and conducted prior to the premiere of the film. I misspoke and used a very inappropriate analogy and for that I apologize.

I have been working with Disney for 40 years and chose them as the custodians of Star Wars because of my great respect for the company and Bob Iger’s leadership. Disney is doing an incredible job of taking care of and expanding the franchise. I rarely go out with statements to clarify my feelings but I feel it is important to make it clear that I am thrilled that Disney has the franchise and is moving it in such exciting directions in film, television and the parks. Most of all I’m blown away with the record breaking blockbuster success of the new movie and am very proud of JJ and Kathy.”

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Lucas has expressed conflicting feelings about selling the “Star Wars” franchise to Disney for $4 billion in 2012.

He and Disney had different visions for the future of the franchise, which helped him make the decision to move on, though he still refers to the “Star Wars” movies as his “kids.”

“I loved them, I created them, I am very intimately involved in them,” Lucas told Rose about the franchise.

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Lucas then quipped: “I sold them to the white slavers that takes these things, and…” Lucas trailed off with a laugh and didn’t finish his sentence.

Watch the interview below. The ‘White Slavers’ comment is at the 2:01 mark.