9-1-1's Ryan Guzman Apologizes for Saying He Uses Racial Slurs: 'I Misspoke'

Update: Following his video apology on Wednesday morning, 9-1-1 star Ryan Guzman has now issued a written apology for his prior statements, writing, "I know my thoughtless words and actions have hurt people and I apologize. I am truly sorry, hold myself accountable and take full responsibility for my defensiveness and ignorance. I support the Black Community with my whole heart and I am educating myself and listening with an open heart and mind. I promise to use this experience to learn and grow and make real change."

Previously: 9-1-1 star Ryan Guzman has apologized for a controversial Instagram Live video saying that he and his friends regularly call each other racial slurs, which his co-stars publicly condemned. In a new video posted to Instagram on Tuesday, the actor said that he "misspoke" when he'd said that he and his friends "call each other slurs all the time." 

"When I said 'slurs,' I came from an angry place. I couldn't think straight, and I misspoke," Guzman, who is Latino, said in Tuesday's video. "I meant to say 'stereotypes.' And do I condone stereotypes? Nah. Now, amongst friends can friends make fun of each other? Yes. That being said, I'm not here to bring anybody, no race down."

The actor, who portrays firefighter Eddie Diaz in the hit Fox disaster procedural, also addressed his wife Chrysti Ane's use of the N-word in a 2011 tweet, which he had previously defended. "I do not condone the use of the N-word by any non-Black person. That includes all Latinos. That's not our word," Guzman said at the top of the video. 

He later said of his wife, "I don't condone her using it. We don't use that word in our household. That's not our word. I'm not here to take away from what the Black community has gone through or take something from them. I'm here to help them in any way, through support, through anything." 

Guzman concluded, "I apologize to those that I have offended and misrepresented myself by using the wrong term. I stand by try, fail, learn, grow state of mind. And I will continue to grow, continue to help out the community."

Guzman received backlash from fans and multiple 9-1-1 co-stars after appearing in an Instagram Live video on Sunday in which he defended Ane for the tweet, which had resurfaced online, by saying he regularly uses slurs with his friends. Ane has since issued a statement apologizing for the tweet. In the video, Guzman said that his wife, who is Brazilian, did not understand the historical context of the word at the time. 

"I have plenty of friends -- black, white, Asian, Indian, Korean -- and we'll make fun of each other's races all the time. We call each other slurs all the time," Guzman said in Sunday's video. "We don't get butt-hurt at all, nah, because we know the actual person, we know who each other are, and we know we're not trying to bring each other down." 

Later that evening, Guzman tweeted that he was "done defending" himself and his family.

Guzman's 9-1-1 co-star Aisha Hinds addressed his comments on Twitter. "How I FEEL daily is a perpetual state of GRIEF. There's sadly no version of this indefensible discourse that doesn't exacerbate that grief," Hinds wrote. "There's legions of learned behaviors that need to be named and neutured [sic] so we don't continue to give life to them. May we know & DO BETTER."

Fellow 9-1-1 actor Rockmond Dunbar tweeted, "I don't condone the sh--. I don't like the sh--. And I've never been one to allow the word to be used around me by any non-black person." He added, "And any alleged 'black people' that are co-signing their non-black friends to refer to them in that way need their entire asses checked. Too much history, too much pain. Past and present. Sh-- is utterly unacceptable."

Co-star Oliver Stark also spoke out against Guzman's comments. "I can tell you that my opinion is there is absolutely no excuse for the use of the n word," he tweeted. "It belongs to the Black community only and I absolutely don't agree with it being used by anyone else under any circumstances."

Fox did not respond to TV Guide's request for comment.

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