British Actor Sorry for Army Remarks

Actor Rupert Everett has apologized for controversial comments he has made regarding the Army as an institution, BBC News reports.

The star had told a British magazine last week that "It's pathetic. The whole point of being in the Army is wanting to get killed." He was also quoted as calling soldiers "wimps" who are "always whining about the dangers of being killed." However, the actor now claims that his comments were not trying to belittle the bravery that soldiers show.

"My flippant and irresponsible behavior arises from a deep frustration at the fact that we seem to be continually making war, dreaming up new ones, instead of doing everything we can to avoid them," defends Everett, whose father is a retired Army major.

The actor claims that his comments were not so much criticizing the Army, as they were criticizing the world's willingness to go into war, without considering the harsh realities that come with it until it is too late. "It seems to me that embracing war means accepting its underbelly as well, torture and the unspeakable violence that spirals from the battlefield to its surroundings. You cannot be politically correct in a war," he maintains.

Everett's comments come at a sensitive time, with the number of soldiers killed from his own country in Afghanistan at 100.

"We still go to war, but actually we haven't the stomach for it," the actor opines.