Actor Jason Statham Apologizes After Leak of Homophobic Outburst On-Set

Action star Jason Statham, known for his work on Transporter and The Fast and the Furious franchise, is trying to put out a fire after an alleged conversation he had with his manager was leaked. The transcript of the conversation, obtained by The Sun, a UK tabloid, has Statham saying the word faggot over and over again.

“Stop acting like a fucking fag. I hate that faggity fucking shit,” the transcript said. “Talking, whispering you guys are acting like a bunch of fucking faggots.” “Stop being a fucking fag and be more assertive. I just hate that fucking faggity behavior fucking faggity shit… fucking fags, I just hate that shit.”

The man who leaked the transcript is RJ Cipriani, a professional gambler who worked on the Jason Statham film Wild Card as an associate producer. It was on-set for this movie that the alleged tirade took place.

“At the time I wanted to go public but I’m ashamed to admit. There were other co-stars, producers, assistants and sound guys who heard the anti-gay rant that day and everyone was shocked and offended,” Cirpriani told The Sun. “Now I want to make things right – it’s time the world knew what Jason Statham did. I approached Jason and his manager and gave him a chance to put this right – I said I wanted him to either apologize or do something for charity or good causes to make amendsBut he chose to do nothing so I have no option but to go public with this.”

Jason Statham issued an apology statement, published in The Blast: “Someone approached me claiming to have a tape of me using terms offensive to the LGBTQ community during a conversation I had with my producing partner, on a movie set five years ago. I have never heard the recording and my multiple requests to hear the recording have been refused. I have no recollection of making any of these offensive comments. However, let me be clear, the terms referenced are highly offensive. If I said these words, it was wrong and I deeply apologize. Anyone who knows me knows it doesn’t reflect how I feel about the LGBTQ community. While I cannot fix what was said in the past, I can learn from it and do better in the future.”

Statham’s attorneys are also stating that any private conversation should not have been listened to or recorded. They also said that if the audio was tapped on the set of Wild Card it would be subject to Louisiana’s Electronic Surveillance Act which bars recordings without consent from at least one party in the conversation.