Kevin Sorbo has had a change of heart.
The conservative actor issued an apology Thursday, just hours after he wrote a Facebook post calling protesters in Ferguson, Mo. “losers” and “animals.”
Late Wednesday night, the 55-year-old “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” star posted a series of scathing comments about the ongoing demonstrations in Ferguson over the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed, 18-year-old African-American, who was shot and killed by a police officer.
Also read: CNN’s Don Lemon: National Guardsman Used N-Word to Describe Ferguson Protesters (Video)
“Ferguson riots have very little to do with the shooting of the young man,” Sorbo wrote in the Wednesday post, which has since been deleted. “It is an excuse to be the losers these animals truly are. It is a tipping point to frustration built up over years of not trying, but blaming everyone else, The Man, for their failures. It’s always someone else’s fault when you give up.”
Sorbo didn’t stop there. “Hopefully this is a reminder to the African Americans ( I always thought we just Americans. Oh, well.) that their President the [sic] voted in has only made things worse for them, not better,” he said.
It didn’t take long for critics to slam Sorbo on social media.
So, @ksorbs (Kevin Sorbo) is not only bigoted against atheists: http://t.co/c0BTNElKyh
This is a new level of douche-baggery.
— Rich (@rnistuk) August 21, 2014
Well, it seems Kevin Sorbo has gone & lost his mind. Must've been all those blows to his head from his Hercules days. #asshat #neoconidiot
— Keira Rodriguez (@KeiraNY) August 22, 2014
https://twitter.com/danarel/status/502516953203113984
After the backlash, Sorbo wrote a second Facebook post, apologizing.
“I stand humiliated and humbled. My most sincere apologies for my post on the events in Ferguson,” he said. “I posted out of frustration and anger over the violence and looting. My words were never meant to hurt the African-American community. My use of the word “losers’ was directed at those doing the looting and vandalising and violence toward others,” he continued.
Aside from his breakout role in “Hercules: The Legendary Journey” from 1995-1999, Sorbo’s acting credits include “Andromeda,” “Kull the Conqueror,” and this year’s hit Christian drama, “God’s Not Dead.”
Also read: Talib Kweli Rips Apart CNN’s Ferguson Coverage: ‘We Live in a World Run by White Supremacy’ (Video)
Read the actor’s entire apology below:
Okay…. I stand humiliated and humbled. My most sincere apologies for my post on the events in Ferguson. I posted out of frustration and anger over the violence and looting. My words were never meant to hurt the African-American community. My use of the word “losers’ was directed at those doing the looting and vandalising and violence toward others. Anyone who does that is a loser in my book. So I will not apologise to those who are looting stores and vandalising there own community. I am very sorry for the police shooting. To answer violence with violence is not the answer here. Real leaders need to emerge out of that community to deal with the problems with the excessive use of police force. I agree with you that the police action has only added to the reaction of the residents of Ferguson. Yes. I am an idiot and do hold myself accountable for the way my post came off.