Liam Neeson ‘removed from Queen’s University Belfast prospectus’ after controversial race comments

The actor was condemned for his comments in February.

Liam Neeson has reportedly been removed from the prospectus for Queen’s University Belfast after he admitted that he wanted to seek revenge on a black person after a close friend was raped.

In February, the Oscar-nominated actor attracted a major backlash after recalling how he roamed the streets looking for a “black bastard” to kill after his friend was attacked.

BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show claims that the Northern Irish actor was set to appear in the prospectus for prospective students but “an instruction was given for him to be removed”.

The actor had previously appeared in the “heritage and heroes” section of the university prospectus for 2018 and 2019. He was reportedly expected to appear in the 2020 edition, too.

It comes after Neeson explained how a “primal” instinct had overtaken him when he attempted to seek revenge for his friend.

Liam Neeson

“I went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping I’d be approached by somebody – I’m ashamed to say that – and I did it for maybe a week, hoping some black bastard would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him,” he said.

Neeson later attempted to clarify his comments and insisted that he wasn’t racist.

“I’m not racist, this was 40 years ago,” he said on Good Morning America. ”I was brought up in the north of Ireland. The Troubles. The ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. There was a war going on in the north of Ireland. I had acquaintances who were involved in the trouble. The bigotry. One Catholic would be killed, the next day a protestant would be killed. I grew up surrounded by that, but I was never surrounded by it.”

While Ellen Page decried Neeson as “so fucking racist”, an unlikely defender came in the form of footballer John Barnes who said that Neeson deserved a medal for his comments.

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