In his subsequent apology, Mortensen said: "Although my intention was to speak strongly against racism, I have no right to even imagine the hurt that is caused by hearing that word in any context, especially from a white man. I do not use the word in private or in public. I am very sorry that I did use the full word last night, and will not utter it again."

Ali responded on Friday by saying: "However well-intended or intellectual the conversation may have been, it wasn't appropriate for Viggo to say the n-word. He has made it clear to me that he's aware of this, and apologised profusely immediately following the Q&A with Elvis Mitchell. "Knowing his intention was to express that removing the n-word from your vocabulary doesn't necessarily disqualify a person as a racist or participating in actions or thoughts that are bigoted, I can accept and embrace his apology."

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.86%

AAP 41.43%

INC 25.71%

Submit

View All In Poll

The Oscar winner of Moonlight fame added: "An excellent and poignant thought was unfortunately overshadowed by voicing the word in its fullness. Which for me, is always hurtful. The use of the word within the black community has long been debated, and its usage should continue to be examined within the black community.

"The use of the word by those who aren't black, is not up for debate. The history of discrimination, slavery, pain, oppression and violence that the word has come to symbolize only causes harm to members of the black community and therefore needs to be left in the past."

Green Book centers on a tour of the Deep South in the 1960s by Jamaican-American pianist Don Shirley (portrayed by Ali) and a bouncer serving as security (played by Mortensen).

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever