There was so much chaos and confusion last week. There was confusion about actor Liam Neeson and his decision to share a tale of his racism from forty years ago, the week his movie was set to be released into theaters.
There were several celebrities who came to his defense. Terry Crews and DL Hughley commended Neeson on being brave enough to share this story, though he has yet to acknowledge the racial implications of walking around for a week wanting to kill any “Black bastard” who got in his way. As Neeson explained, this was in response to a good friend of his being raped by a Black man.
It was wrong and racist.
Michelle Rodriguez, one of Neeson’s costars in Widows, came forward with a very tone deaf defense for Neeson’s character saying:
“It’s all f*ckin’ bullsh*t. Liam Neeson is not racist. Dude, have you watched Widows? His tongue was so far down Viola Davis’ throat. You can’t call him a racist ever. Racists don’t make out with the race that they hate, especially in the way he does with his tongue—so deep down her throat. I don’t care how good of an actor you are. It’s all bullshit. Ignore it. He’s not racist. He’s a loving man. It’s all lies.”
Chile.
It was clear that Rodriguez is not really up on her history. With colonialization—likely including an explanation of her own racial makeup—slavery and even modern day examples of racist people with Black partners, her comment just wasn’t helpful, productive or logical.
And after she was called out on it, Rodriguez issued this apology via her Instagram page.
Glad she got the message.