Gary Oldman: I’m an A-hole for defending homophobic rant

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

Gary Oldman has conceded he is an “A-hole” for defending the use of homophobic slurs.

In a Playboy interview this week, Oldman criticized the “political correctness” that surrounded anti-Semitic comments made by Gibson, and homophobic slurs employed by actor Alec Baldwin in 2013.

Baldwin was caught on camera last year calling one photographer a “cocksucking fag”.

Oldman, who issued a statement retracting his comments, appeared on Jimmy Kemmel Live on Wednesday to reiterate his earlier apology.

He said:  “I said some things that were poorly considered. Once I had seen it in print I could see that it was offensive, insensitive, pernicious, and ill informed.

“Words have meaning, they carry weight long after you’ve said them, and I don’t condone or excuse the words I used in any context.

“I just basically shouldn’t have used them in any context, but I did, and I have deeply injured and wounded great many people.

“I’m a public figure. I should be an example and an inspiration, and I’m an A-hole, and I’m 56. I should know better.

“We’re asked to be social and cultural and political commentators, and I am not. I stepped out of my area of expertise, and I landed both feet in a hornets’ nest. It came over in a certain way, and for that I am deeply sorry.”