Rupert Everett Says Sorry For Calling British Soldiers "Wimps"

British actor Rupert Everett is apologizing for calling his country's soldiers "wimps" in an interview with a newspaper over the weekend.

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While promoting his TV documentary "The Victorian Sex Explorer," the "My Best Friend's Wedding" actor tells U.K. paper Sunday Telegraph, "In Burton's (army officer and explorer Sir Richard Burton, the character he plays in the show) day they were itching to get into the fray. Now it is the opposite. They are always whining about the dangers of being killed. Oh my God, they are such wimps now!"

"The whole point of being in the Army is wanting to get killed, wanting to test yourself to the limits. Now you have to fly 15,000 ft. above the war zone to avoid getting hit. I don't think there is any point in having wars if that's how you're going to behave. It's pathetic. All this whining!"

"The whole point of being in the Army is going to war and getting yourself blown up... Yet we all get shocked by Abu Ghraib."

Everett, 49, then issues a statement to apologize "without reserve" for his tirade.

He says, "I apologize without reserve to the many in this country, and hundreds and thousands of others across the world who have lost their brothers and sisters, their fathers and mothers to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and all the countless others."

"I never meant to any point to question the bravery of those who lose their lives, or survive, but without arms or legs. Just seeing these people in my mind's eye right now makes me feel a terrible anguish."

He adds, "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."