“9-1-1” actor Ryan Guzman is apologizing defending the use of racial slurs after some of his co-stars called him out on Twitter.
Guzman, who plays firefighter Eddie Diaz on the Fox procedural, came under fire Sunday after taking to Instagram Live to defend both himself and his fiancée, Brazilian actress Chrysti Ane, for using racial slurs.
Soon after, Oliver Stark — who plays Evan Buckley, best friend of Guzman’s character –weighed in to oppose Guzman’s remarks, saying, “there is no excuse for the use of the N-word.” So did Aisha Hinds, who plays firefighter “Hen” on “9-1-1.”
“How I FEEL daily is a perpetual state of GRIEF. There’s sadly no version of this indefensible discourse that doesn’t exacerbate that grief. There’s legions of learned behaviors that need to be named and neutered so we don’t continue to give life to them. May we know & DO BETTER,” she wrote in regards to Guzman’s statements.
Now, Guzman is walking back his claims.
“I do not condone the use of the N-word by any non-Black person. That includes all Latinos. That’s not our word,” he said in an Instagram video posted Monday.
He also said that by using the word “slurs,” he was coming “from an angry place. I couldn’t think straight, and I misspoke.”
His defense is that he was protecting his fiancee and their young son, who were facing online harassment.
Guzman added that what he meant to say was “stereotypes” instead of “slurs.”
“Amongst friends, can friends make fun of each other? Yes,” he said, adding, “I’m not here to bring anybody down.”
Guzman and his fiancee first came under fire in May when some of Ane’s tweets from 2011 resurfaced in which she used the N-word. She has since apologized, but added that at the time she was in a relationship with a man of color and “felt accepted by the black community,” which lead her to feel comfortable using the slur.
Guzman addressed Ane’s past remarks as well, saying, “I think she’s grown as a woman.”
“I apologize to those that I have offended and misrepresented myself by using the wrong term,” he continued. “I will continue to grow, and continue to help out the community.”
TheWrap has reached out to Fox for comment.
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