Jonah Hill rues using homophobic slur

Actor Jonah Hill, currently on the publicity trail for the soon-to-be-released “22 Jump Street,” has publicly apologized for using a homophobic slur this past weekend and is asking young people to take a lesson from him in what not to do when speaking in anger.

In conversations with both Jimmy Fallon and Howard Stern, Hill expressed remorse for saying, “Suck my dick, you faggot,” to a member of the paparazzi who was following and taunting him. The exchange was caught on video by TMZ.

A longtime vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights (he was active in the Love Conquers Hate campaign condemning Russia’s anti-gay laws in the run-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics), Hill said he is upset with himself and that he doesn’t expect or deserve forgiveness for making the slur.

“I didn’t mean it in a homophobic way. I think that….that doesn’t matter, you know? How you mean things doesn’t matter. Words have weight in meaning. The word I chose was grotesque. No one deserves to say or hear words like that,” an emotional Hill said on “The Tonight Show.”

Appearing genuinely contrite, he admonished others not to lash out as he did. “If someone says something that hurts you or angers you, use me an example of what not to do. And don’t respond with hatred or anger, because you’re just adding more ugliness to the world,” he warned.