Sam Elliott has admitted his regret for publicly criticizing the critically acclaimed Western movie The Power of the Dog after he faced a severe backlash for his comments which were widely perceived as homophobic.
The veteran actor has expressed his remorse for hurting friends, loved ones and others when he called the Jane Campion adaptation a "piece of s***" and criticized it for its "allusions to homosexuality throughout" during an appearance on the podcast WTF with Marc Maron.
Now the 77-year-old star of Road House has apologized for these remarks and made a complete U-turn from his previous sentiments.
"I wasn't very articulate about it. I didn't articulate it very well," he said during an appearance at a panel hosted by Deadline to promote the series 1883.
"I said some things that hurt people, and I feel terrible about that. I (said) that I thought Jane Campion was a brilliant director."
Elliott added: "I want to apologize to the cast of The Power Of The Dog—brilliant actors all, in particular Benedict Cumberbatch.
"I can only say that I'm sorry, and I am. I am."
Initially, Elliott criticized New Zealander Campion and said on the WTF podcast: "What the f*** does this woman from down there know about the American West?"
The Power of the Dog was the movie with the most nominations at this year's Academy Awards with Campion taking home the Oscar for Best Director.
Elliott also apologized to the gay community for his remarks—he previously compared the cowboys in the movie to Chippendale dancers who "wear bow ties and not much else" and who are "running around in chaps and no shirts."
In his apology, he added: "The gay community has been incredible to me my entire career. And I mean by entire career, from before I got started in this town.
"Friends on every level, in every job description—up until today, with my agent, my dear friend of a number of years.
"I'm sorry that I hurt any of those friends and someone I loved and anyone else by the words that I used."
Following Elliott's initial comments, Campion hit back by saying that the actor is not a real cowboy.
"I think it's really unfortunate and sad for him, because he has really hit the trifecta of misogyny and xenophobia and homophobia," she told Variety.
"I don't like that. I think he was being a little bit of a b****. He's not a cowboy, he's an actor."
