Michelle Rodriguez: Liam Neeson Can't Be Racist, He Kissed Viola Davis

Action star Liam Neeson made headlines last week when he kicked off Black History Month by admitted to having had a racist revenge fantasy. Now Michelle Rodriguez has declared that claims that her Widows costar Neeson is racist are "fucking bullshit."

The bisexual actress came to Neeson's defense Wednesday at the amfAR Gala New York, reports Vanity Fair. Earlier this month, Neeson came under fire for an interview with The Independent, in which he claimed a female friend's rape drove him to want to kill any "black bastard" that approached him.

"It's all fucking bullshit. Liam Neeson is not a racist," said Rodriguez. "Dude, have you watched Widows? His tongue was so far down Viola Davis's throat," Rodriguez said regarding a love scene between Neeson and the How to Get Away With Murder star.

"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 a racist. He's a loving man. It's all lies," Rodriguez added.

Neeson, who portrays Davis's husband in Widows, the 2018 heist film from Steve McQueen, also admitted that when his friend informed him she'd been raped, he asked, "What color were they?"

The actor then explained his subsequent actions in more detail:

"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 [Neeson gestures air quotes with his fingers] 'black bastard' would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could... kill him."

This is not the first time Rodriguez had made controversial remarks. When questioned about her role as an assassin forced to undergo gender-reassignment surgery at the hands of a vengeful surgeon in the problematic 2016 movie The Assignment, Rodriguez disregarded the concerns of the trans community.

"What controversy?" she replied when asked about the role.

"I remember a day when white people were playing black people," she said, adding, "It's just about the evolution."