VIDEO: Jonah Hill apologizes for homophobic slur

LOS ANGELES, USA – Oscar-nominated Moneyball and Wolf of Wall Street star Jonah Hill has made an emotional apology for using an anti-gay slur at a paparazzi he said was harassing him.

The 30-year-old actor, whose latest film “22 Jump Street” is out next week, said his remarks were “grotesque” and not in keeping with his long-held support for the LGBT community.

Hill said he was out with friends at the weekend when “a paparazzi guy was antagonizing me and calling me names, attacking me personally and my family personally, and I was genuinely hurt by this and made angry by this.

“In response, I wanted to hurt him back and I said the most hurtful word that I could think of at that moment. I didn’t mean this in the sense of the word. I didn’t mean it in a homophobic way.”

“How you mean things doesn’t matter. Words have weight and meaning. The word I chose was grotesque and no one deserves to say or hear words like that,” the clearly upset star told late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon.

The words he used, caught on tape by celebrity news website TMZ, were “Suck my dick, faggot.”

“My heart’s broken and I genuinely am deeply sorry to anybody who’s ever been affected by that term in their life,” said Hill, nominated for Oscars for 2011’s Moneyball and last year’s The Wolf of Wall Street. 

“I’m sorry and I don’t deserve or expect your forgiveness,” he added.

Hill’s immediate apology – just as publicity for the sequel to 2012’s “21 Jump Street” reaches a peak – contrasts with actor Alec Baldwin’s attempts to calm a row about comments made in a similar situation.

Baldwin dragged out the row for weeks when he was caught on camera by TMZ allegedly calling a photographer a “cocksucking faggot.” He denied that he had used the word “faggot.”

The 30 Rock star, who has a history of fiery public outbursts, was sacked from his own late-night chat show after the alleged altercation last November in New York. – Rappler.com