*The following article contains discussion of sexual assault.
Last week, Liam Neeson sat down with Men's Health to discuss his new film Marlowe and to also "answer some internet questions."
The questions ranged from his particular set of skills to his diet and Star Warsand beyond, to which Neeson responded honestly and bluntly ("I eat food.") And the straight shooter did not hold back on sharing his feelings about ultimate fighting nor expressing his thoughts on Irish fighter Conor McGregor.
He told Joshua St. Clair:
"UFC I can't stand. That to me is like a bar fight."
"I know the practitioners are like, 'No, you're wrong - the months of training we do...'"
He continued:
"Why don't you just grab a beer bottle and hit the other guy over the head? That's the next stage of the UFC."
"I hate it..."
Then, Neeson unloaded on McGregor:
"That little leprechaun Conor McGregor, he gives Ireland a bad name."
"I know he's fit, and I admire him for that. But I can't take it."
\u201cLiam Neeson on Conor McGregor \ud83d\ude33 #ufc #liamneeson\u201d— XcellentMMA (@XcellentMMA) 1675593506
McGregor is not a favorite to many as he is known for his unchecked ego and for vilely running his mouth. He was also charged for assault in 2018 and accused of rape the same year.
Twitter, of course, weighed in.
A few called out Neeson for shaming fighting while getting massively paid for portraying violence in his films.
I’m no McGregor fan, but this is so rich coming from an actor who makes his millions in violent action films (don’t get me wrong I like the films) but the hypocrisy is hilarious!!
— Erasmus (@Mmagnuson59) February 4, 2023
Liam kills people on the big screen, Conor beats people up in the big ring. It's all just entertainment.
— paulbriggs (@paulbriggs) February 3, 2023
The majority, however, sided with Neeson on this one.
Credible observation, another one of Liam Neeson's 'particular set of skills'
— Anne Morgan 🇮🇪🇺🇦 (@AnneMor26499771) February 3, 2023
Totally agree with Liam Neeson on this
— Dougal (@DougalCmk) February 4, 2023
He's not wrong, in fairness.
— Andrew Eager (@AndrewEager) February 3, 2023
Liam never a more true word said
— Ivan Noonan (@IvanNoonan1) February 3, 2023
I didn’t think it was possible to love Liam Neeson any more……until now.
— Eibhin Butler (@EBDublin) February 3, 2023
100% agree with you Liam.
— David Cummins (@DavidCummins85) February 3, 2023
On the money..Liam
— Hyland-Paul/SilksPhoto... (@paulhyland22) February 5, 2023
I absolutely agree! He’s an embarrassment 😞
— Ross Mills (@11RossMills65) February 4, 2023
Liam is absolutely right a bad name to Irish ppl
— Rohullah Anvari (@RohullahAnvari) February 4, 2023
Well, you won't be seeing Neeson in the octagon any time soon, but you can catch him in Marlowe beginning February 15.
If you or someone you know experienced sexual assault, help is out there. You can reach the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline by calling 1-800-656-4673, use their Live Chat tool: https://www.rainn.org/get-help, or visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
In Canada, help is available through the Ending Violence Association of Canada website.
International resources can be found through the Rape Crisis Network Europewebsite.
