Jason Momoa Apologizes Over Sistine Chapel Controversy: 'It Was Not My Intention'

KEY POINTS

Jason Momoa received flak for taking photos inside the Sistine Chapel
The 42-year-old actor posted an apology video to address the controversy
He said he made a hefty donation to the church for a private tour inside

Jason Momoa has apologized for taking photos inside the Sistine Chapel. He addressed the controversy Sunday on Instagram after receiving flak for posting pictures of himself inside the historic site, where mobile phones are strictly prohibited.

The “Aquaman” actor is currently in Rome shooting the 10^th “Fast & Furious” film, “Fast X.” On May 9, he posted snaps of himself inside the Sistine Chapel, with the famous Michelangelo paintings behind him. “I LOVE YOU ITALY, what a beautiful start to our day off enjoying ROMA,” he captioned his post.

The post did not sit well with fans, who quickly called out the actor in the comments section saying visitors are prohibited from taking photos or videos inside the historic site in Vatican City.

As negative comments flooded his post, the 42-year-old actor offered an apology to Roman citizens, and his fans in general, saying that the last thing he wanted to do was offend their culture. In a video, a sweaty and shirtless Momoa addressed the controversy, saying, “It’s my last day in Rome, and I just love you and Italy. If you ever thought I disrespected your culture, that wasn’t my intention.”

A post shared by instagram

“I came here when I was 19 or 20 years old to see the Sistine Chapel. I always wanted to do it and now that I can, I made a wonderful donation to bring my friends and my team because we only had a couple of days off to see these places,” he continued.

“And then I found that people wanted to take pictures with me, which is very strange, during a trip to the Vatican with all this wonder and they want to take pictures with me, which I don’t understand, but despite everything, I did it,” he added, assuring fans that that moment inside the site was done with respect and a hefty donation to the church.

“I was very respectful and asked permission for what I thought, would be okay. I would never want to do anything that would disrespect someone’s culture. If I did, I apologize. It was not my intention. I paid to have that private moment and gave a nice donation to the church. I’m sorry if I offended them,” he concluded.

The video has earned 3.6 million views as of this writing.