John Grisham Statement Update: ‘Gray Mountain’ Author Apologizes For Child Pornography Comment

Author John Grisham apologized for his statement about child pornography Thursday. The writer, who is known for best-selling novels like “The Firm," "The Client" and "The Pelican Brief,” took to Facebook to share his regrets.

"Anyone who harms a child for profit or pleasure, or who in any way participates in child pornography--online or otherwise--should be punished to the fullest extent of the law."

The statement continues: "My comments made two days ago during an interview with the British newspaper 'The Telegraph' were in no way intended to show sympathy for those convicted of sex crimes, especially the sexual molestation of children. I can think of nothing more despicable."

It concludes: "I regret having made these comments, and apologize to all."

Originally, Grisham did an interview with England’s the Daily Telegraph to promote his new book. He talked about America’s prison system apparently being out of control and then made unsettling comments about child porn.

"We have prisons now filled with guys my age. Sixty-year-old white men in prison who've never harmed anybody, would never touch a child,” he told the Daily Telegraph. "But they got online one night and started surfing around, probably had too much to drink or whatever, and pushed the wrong buttons, went too far and got into child porn,” he said.

By essentially saying some people simply stumble upon child porn online, and using intoxication as an excuse, his statements troubled many people. While there were plenty of comments made about Grisham and what he said, some Twitter users remarked his publicist must be having a bad day after his client’s remarks.

Unsettling as his child porn comments may be, it’s not the first time Grisham has said something outrageous. During an interview with the BBC in November 2013, he claimed growing up in the American South left him with a racist mind-set. "We are all racists at different levels,” he said. “We prefer our race and we are quick to condemn others."

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