Los Angeles, Feb 8 (IANS) Actress Michelle Rodriguez has defended actor Liam Neeson, who came under fire earlier this week for admitting that he once wanted to kill a black person for revenge, saying he is not racist.

In an interview to Vanity Fair, Neeson's "Widows" co-star Rodriguez said Neeson can't be racist because he "made out with a black person".

"It's all (expletive). Liam Neeson is not a racist. Dude, have you watched 'Widows'? His tongue was so far down Viola Davis' throat. 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 (expletive). Ignore it. He's a loving man," Usatoday.com quoted Rodriguez as saying.

During the promotions of his upcoming film "Cold Pursuit" a few days ago, Neeson made a controversial statement.

He said: "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 (uses air quotes with 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."

Shortly after the statement, he received backlash on social media and people started calling him racist.

--IANS sim/rb/ab