In defence of Liam Neeson | 5 February 2019

Liam Neeson has been ‘cancelled’, which is internet-speak for ‘cast out’. Overnight he has gone from being the avuncular star of ropey American thrillers to being ‘trash’, persona non grata, a foul, nasty man Hollywood should no longer indulge. His crime? He confessed, during an interview, to having once had a terrible thought, a thought he is now deeply ashamed of, a thought so wicked that when he thinks of it now he has to catch his breath and re-compose himself. Yes, that’s right: the Twittermob has become so unforgiving, so myopically obsessed with taking people down, that it is now persecuting even those who express deep regret about their past bad behaviour.

Neeson was promoting his new action blockbuster Cold Pursuit in an interview with the Independent. In the film, the son of Neeson’s character is killed by a drug gang and Neeson’s character goes looking for revenge. This is basically the storyline of every Liam Neeson movie.