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Last year, Liam Neeson made a surprise cameo in “Atlanta”, in which the “Taken” star referred to his 2019 racism scandal, which he sparked by recalling his rage after a friend was raped by a Black man, revealing he took to the streets in the hopes that a “Black bastard” would “come out of a pub and have a go at me… so that I could kill him.”
In a new interview with GQ, “Atlanta” star/creator Donald Glover opened up about the extreme efforts he undertook to land Neeson for that cameo — particularly after Neeson initially turned down the offer.
“When I got in touch with him, Liam poured his heart out,” Glover said. “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.’”
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Despite Neeson’s hesitancy, Glover was undeterred.
“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!’” Glover continued.
“Jordan thought it was hilarious! So Jordan talked to him,” Glover recalled.
“Liam hit me back and said he talked to Jordan and his son and thought it’d actually be a good thing,” Glover added. “But what was so funny is, like, I forgot to hit Jordan back. I was so excited about Liam doing it. So Jordan hit a friend of mine, and was like, ‘Am I on a prank show where Donald got me to forgive Liam Neeson? Was this a joke… on me?’”
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In the cameo, Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) bumps into fictionalized version of Neeson at a bar called the Cancel Club.
“You might’ve heard or read about my transgression,” Neeson tells Paper Boi. “You know, what I said about what I wanted to do to a Black guy, any Black guy, when I was a younger man in London. A friend of mine had been raped and I acted out of anger. I look back now and it honestly frightens me. I thought people knowing who I once was would make clear who I am, who I’ve become. But with all that being said, I am sorry. I apologize if I hurt people.”
Paper Boi responds by telling Neeson, “It’s good to know that you don’t hate Black people now.”
Liam Neeson sliding into Atlanta was NOT on my bingo card. Brilliant cameo I might add. pic.twitter.com/B36I8OczXx
— The Nu Geekz (@TheNuGeekz) May 7, 2022
“No, no I can’t stand the lot of you,” Neeson replies. “Well, now I feel that way because you tried to ruin my career. Didn’t succeed, mind you. However, I’m sure one day I will get over it, but until then, we are mortal enemies.”
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When Paper Boi asks Neeson if he learned that he shouldn’t make racist remarks like the one he just made, Neeson answers, “Aye. But I also learned that the best and worst part of being white is that we don’t have to learn anything if we don’t want to.”