Michelle Rodriguez is saying a big "I'm sorry" for getting mixed up in Liam Neeson's racism drama the wrong way.
"The Fast and the Furious" actress, 40, tried to defend Liam after he garnered racist accusations with a story he recounted at a press junket for his latest film, "Cold Pursuit."
Liam was ashamed to admit that, decades ago, a close friend shared that she'd been raped by a black man and he spent weeks wanting to violently take his anger out on any black male that came his way.
Michelle jumped to Liam's defense, claiming that he couldn't be a racist because he shared an on-screen kiss with Viola Davis in their recent movie, "Widows," in which she also co-stars.
"It's all f—ing bulls–t," she told Vanity Fair on Wednesday, Feb. 6. "Liam Neeson is not a 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."
Michelle quickly realized the naïveté of her words, despite having good intentions, and penned an open letter on Instagram to apologize, which she shared on Saturday, Feb. 9.
"To my friends and colleagues and my fans and community," Michelle began. "I want to deeply apologize for my recent choice of words, and poor use of example. In a pressure-filled situation, I defended a friend in the wrong way. I now realize how insensitive it was, and I had no intention of invoking such a terrible historical comparison. I have learned from this, and will grow from it. One love, MRod."
Liam also tried to explain himself and provide some context to his feelings after telling the story.
"I'm not racist," he said. "This was nearly 40 years ago, and because I was brought up in the North of Ireland and brought up in the Troubles, the '60s, '70s, and early '80s, there was a war going on in the North of Ireland, and I had acquaintances who were involved in the Troubles, the bigotry. One Catholic would be killed, the next day a Protestant would be killed. One Catholic pub would be bombed and then a Protestant pub bombed. I grew up around that, but was never part of it."
Still, the red-carpet premiere for Liam's movie in New York City was promptly canceled following the controversy.