While attending the amfAR Gala in New York on Wednesday, Michelle Rodriguez gave some curious and confusing quotes to Vanity Fair in an attempt to defend Liam Neeson after the actor recently shared an account of once seeking revenge against black men.
Referring to Widows, a film she starred in with him last year, Rodriguez vehemently defended Neeson against being labeled as a racist, saying, "Racists don’t make out with the race that they hate."
"It’s all fuckin’ bullshit. Liam Neeson is not a racist,” Rodriguez told a Vanity Fair reporter. "Dude, have you watched Widows? His tongue was so far down Viola Davis’s 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."
In the film, Neeson and Davis play a husband and wife.
"I don’t care how good of an actor you are," Rodriguez added. "It’s all bullshit. Ignore it. He’s not a racist. He’s a loving man. It’s all lies."
Representatives for Davis didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The backlash against Neeson came in response to an anecdote he offered during an interview with the Independent earlier this week while promoting his latest film Cold Pursuit.
Neeson said 40 years ago, after a friend confided in him that she had been raped, he asked for the race of the assailant and "went up and down areas" in Ireland looking for any "black bastard" to kill.
The Taken actor said that looking back today he was "ashamed" of his actions.
On Tuesday, Neeson appeared on Good Morning America to try to clarify his story and to state that he was "not racist."
"If she had said an Irish or a Scot or a Brit or a Lithuanian, I know I would have had the same effect. I was trying to show honor, to stand up for my dear friend, in this terrible medieval fashion," he said.
On Tuesday, the red carpet event for the New York City premiere of Cold Pursuit was canceled amid the scandal.