Lord of the Rings and X-Men star Ian McKellen on Wednesday asserted that Islamic terrorists have a “legitimate complaint” about the west. Appearing on Larry King Now, the actor discussed the “dreadful” murder of 130 people in Paris. McKellen equivocated, “I’m sure the legitimate complaint that your country and my country have meddled in their affairs is a fair one.”

He quickly added, “But it doesn’t justify this.” On the subject of letting Syrian refugees into the United States and other countries, he cheered, “These are brave, brave people and I think they should be looked after and cared for until such time that they can go back home, which is what I think most of them want to do, I think.”

A transcript of the comments can be found below: