Jonah Hill Apologizes For Using Homophobic Slur On Photographer

Jonah Hill is speaking out after lashing out at a photographer.

Last weekend, the Oscar-nominated actor hurled a homophobic slur at a photographer who had been following the 30-year-old actor down the street.

“Suck my d**k, you f****t,” the “22 Jump Street” star is heard telling the photographer, in a clip posted on TMZ.

PHOTOS: Gay & Lesbian Hollywood

On Tuesday, Jonah appeared on the “The Howard Stern Show” and apologized.

“This is a heartbreaking situation for me,” Jonah said during a lengthy apology.

“I’m upset because from the day I was born, and publicly, I’ve been a gay rights activist. Now, this person, you saw a 40-second video. This person had been following me around –just to give it some context, not excusing what I said in any way – this person had been following me around all day, had been saying hurtful things about my family, really hurtful things about me personally, and I played into exactly what he wanted and lost my cool,” the actor, who has worked with the Human Rights Campaign in the past, explained.

WATCH: ’22 Jump Street’ – First Look

“In that moment I said a disgusting word that does not at all reflect how I feel about any group of people. I grew up with gay family members. I’m leaving here to go spend the day with one of my closest co-workers and best friend who is gay, who’s getting married, who I’m going to stand at his wedding. You know? I’m not at all defending my choice of words but I am happy to be the poster boy for thinking about what you say and how those words, even if you don’t intend them and how they mean, they are rooted in hate, and that’s bulls–t,” he continued. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

Looking back, Jonah wished he would have gone another direction with his anger for the photographer, who he said was hounding him.

“I think I’m pretty good at being in movies. I am not good at being a famous person. I’m just not. I think there are some people who are meant for it. If you call me ugly, if you call family members of mine drug addicts and maniacs, I am eventually going to lose my cool,” he told Howard.

WATCH: Jonah Hill Discusses Using Prosthetics In The Wolf Of Wall Street

Adding, “Now what I said in that moment was disgusting and a hurtful term. I should have either said nothing or just ‘f**k you.’ Instead, I used a word that I don’t use in my personal life. It’s not part of my vernacular. I’m happy to take the heat for using this disgusting word. What I won’t allow is for anyone – it would break my heart for anyone to think, especially with all the work that I’ve done and all the loved ones that I have – that I would be against anyone for their sexuality.”

— Jesse Spero