Whoopi Goldberg defends Liam Neeson saying he is not a 'bigot' amid racism controversy

Famous star Whoopi Goldberg has gone public to defend Liam Neeson after the racism controversy sparked by the actor.

During an episode of "The View," Goldberg addressed the subject and said that she didn't consider Neeson a racist person.

The 63-year-old claimed that she has known the actor for a long time, and if he was indeed racist, she would have recognized it.

UNDERSTANDABLE RAGE

According to Goldberg, she has "been around a lot of real bigots" and Neeson isn't one. Plus, the host acknowledged that it wasn't a surprise that Neeson got angry after learning that a close friend had been sexually abused.

"You can't be surprised that somebody whose loved one is attacked is angry and wants to go out and attack. What he did go on to say... is that he realized that it was too dark for him, he went and got himself help."

THE CONTROVERSIAL INTERVIEW

Neeson has been under fire ever since he shared, during a "Good Morning America" appearance, that he once walked the streets "with a cosh" hoping to unleash violence upon a black person.

The 66-year-old explained that he went out a few times at night to areas mostly populated by black people hoping to deliberately hurt and kill someone out of revenge for his friend.

The actor confessed that, at the time, he was hoping to be approached by a black man outside of a pub, and that he wanted to kill any black man who would have had a go at him.

The 63-year-old claimed that she has known the actor for a long time, and if he was indeed racist, she would have recognized it

SEEING THE ERROR OF HIS WAYS

During the interview, Neeson admitted that, eventually, he realized what he was doing and found himself some help through a priest.

The actor claimed that he wasn't racist and everything happened almost 40 years ago, but that still wasn't enough to the dodge the controversy his words sparked.