Days after speaking out in defense of co-star Liam Neeson, Michelle Rodriguez has apologized for the way in which she went about it. The Widows star previously dismissed Neeson’s anecdote of pre-meditated violence against a black man, claiming his on-screen chemistry with Viola Davis negated any suggestions of racism.

“To my friends and colleagues and my fans and community: I want to deeply apologize for my recent choice of words, and poor use of example,” Rodriguez wrote in a Saturday Instagram post. “In a pressure-filled situation, I defended a friend in the wrong way. I now realize how insensitive it was, and I had no intention of invoking such a terrible historical comparison. I have learned from this, and will grow from it.”

The controversy began when Neeson made an unexpected confession of racial prejudice during press rounds for his new film, Cold Pursuit. The 66-year-old actor relayed a story of having learned a female friend had been raped some years earlier, and how his anger drove him to seek out and potentially attack someone matching the alleged assailant’s description. Neeson subsequently denied that pursuing retribution against “some black bastard” made him racist, and celebrities like Rodriguez and Terry Crews have attempted to parse his intent.

Rodriguez addressed the question on the red carpet of the amfAR Gala in New York earlier this week, offering, “Dude, have you watched Widows? His tongue was so far down Viola Davis’s throat. You can’t call him a racist ever. Racists don’t make out with the race that they hate, especially in the way he does with his tongue—so deep down her throat. I don’t care how good of an actor you are. It’s all bullshit. Ignore it. He’s not a racist. He’s a loving man. It’s all lies.”