Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali have been out and about doing the publicity circuit promoting their upcoming film “Green Book.” There’s a lot of awards chatter around the film, which tells the story of a rough New York bouncer (Mortensen) who is hired by a distinguished Black pianist (Ali) to travel through the Deep South in the early-‘60s for a concert tour. “Green Book,” as you might imagine, explores the racial tension and the idea of racial identity during a dark time in America’s history. That’s what makes what happened at a recent Q&A so shocking.
During a Q&A following a screening on Wednesday (via THR), star Mortensen was attempting to answer a question when he used the N-word. For context, those who were attending the screening said that the actor was talking about how progress has been slow in today’s climate, but he hoped the movie means a lot for people. He began talking about how racism comes in waves and said (according to one report), “I’m gonna go off on a tangent here, but it’s important, and I don’t like saying the word, but, for instance, people don’t say n—– anymore.”
As you might guess, people were immediately stunned by his use of the word, especially considering the context of the answer. The report says that right after he said the word, a woman shouted, “Don’t say that.” Well, in response to the outcry, Mortensen gave a statement to THR with an apology, promising not to “utter it again.”
Here’s his full statement:
“In making the point that many people casually used the ‘N’ word at the time in which the movie’s story takes place, in 1962, I used the full word. Although my intention was to speak strongly against racism, I have no right to even imagine the hurt that is caused by hearing that word in any context, especially from a white man. I do not use the word in private or in public. I am very sorry that I did use the full word last night, and will not utter it again.
One of the reasons I accepted the challenge of working on Peter Farrelly’s movie ‘Green Book’ was to expose ignorance and prejudice in the hope that our movie’s story might help in some way to change people’s views and feelings regarding racial issues. It is a beautiful, profound movie story that I am very proud to be a part of.”
“Green Book” opens November 16.