Liam Neeson has issued an apology for comments he made last month, in which he recounted a racist revenge story of hoping to kill a black bastard after a friend was raped.

Over the last several weeks, I have reflected on and spoken to a variety of people who were hurt by my impulsive recounting of a brutal rape of a dear female friend nearly 40 years ago and my unacceptable thoughts and actions at that time in response to this crime, Neeson said in a statement obtained by multiple news outlets.