Warning: This article mentions sexual assault.
In February 2019, actor Liam Neeson faced a massive backlash after admitting the extreme lengths he would take to avenge his close friend’s sexual assault.
According to The Independent, at the time, Neeson disclosed that around 40 years ago, he was informed about a close friend’s sexual assault. The Widows star shared that the assailant’s description his friend gave was a Black man. Shortly after receiving the brief details, Neeson revealed that he spent about a week searching for any Black male to physically harm them.
Ultimately, the actor gave up on his search after he realized what he was doing was wrong. He also sought help by talking to a priest and his friends. Fast forward to three years later, Neeson made a cameo appearance in FX’s Atlanta. In episode eight of the third season titled “New Jazz,” Neeson guest-starred as a fictionalized version of himself as he met with Brian Tyree Henry’s Paper Boi character at Cancel Club.
In that scene, Neeson apologizes for his past actions, and Paper Boi forgives him as he praises the star for his work in Taken. Things would take a turn when Paper Boi stated that it was good to know Neeson didn’t dislike Black people. Neeson intercepted by saying he still “can’t stand a lot of” Black people because his career was almost ruined, but he would eventually get over it. Neeson wrapped up his sentiments by calling Paper Boi a “mortal enemy.”
During a recent interview with GQ magazine, Atlanta creator and star Donald Glover opened up about how he got Neeson to appear on the show with the help of filmmaker Jordan Peele. Glover told the publication that when he first contacted Neeson about the opportunity, the 70-year-old appeared very remorseful. Glover added that when he informed Neeson about the idea he had poking fun at the controversy, the father of two was reluctant and eventually turned it down. The “Redbone” singer said,
“When I got in touch with him, Liam poured his heart out. He was like, ‘I am embarrassed. I don’t know about this. I’m trying to get away from that.’ And I was like, ‘Man, I’m telling you, this will be funny! And you’ll actually get a lot of cream from it because it’ll show you’re sorry.’ He asked me to let him think about it. Then he sent me an email saying, ‘I don’t think I can do it and best of luck with “Atlanta,” blah-blah-blah.”
Later, Glover recounted that when he was talking to Neeson about the controversy, he remembered the names of the people that the actor mentioned he confided to during that time, with one of them being Jordan Peele. Glover shared that he used his connection to Peele to change Neeson’s mind about doing the project by telling the Nope director idea he pitched before. Glover stated while mentioning that Peele thought the idea was hilarious and did speak to Neeson about it:
“Liam said [after the incident] he talked to Morgan Freeman, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee. So I was like…Jordan Peele! I hit Jordan Peele up and I was like, ‘Look, man, I got this idea. He said that he trusted you. Tell him it’s a good idea! Jordan thought it was hilarious! So Jordan talked to him. Liam hit me back and said he talked to Jordan and his son and thought it’d actually be a good thing.”
Towards the end of the interview, Glover expressed that once he found out that Neeson was onboard, he forgot to contact Peele to inform him about the situation. This led to Peele reaching their mutual friend and jokingly questioning if the 39-year-old tricked him into forgiving Neeson.
All seasons of Atlanta can now be streamed on Hulu.