Jason Momoa apologizes after taking photos and videos on a recent trip to the Sistine Chapel.
Earlier this week, the ‘Aquaman’ star took to Instagram to share photos he took of himself admiring the artwork inside the Apostolic Palace. The only problem is that photography is prohibited, as the flash can be harmful to the work.
“I LOVE YOU ITALY, what a beautiful start to the day enjoying ROMA,” Momoa captioned her post. Fans were outraged and some even believed the 42-year-old actor had received special treatment.
“We ordinary people are not allowed to film inside the Sistine Chapel,” one user commented. Another fan said: “We can’t take pictures but of course celebrities can’t do anything against Jason (I love him) but that’s not fair.”
After Momoa received the backlash, he posted an apology video which was shared by Just Jared.
“I also just wanted to say, if you ever felt that I was disrespecting your culture, that was not my intention,” Momoa said.
“I came here when I was 19 or 20 to discover the Sistine Chapel. I’ve always wanted to and now that I can, I’ve made a wonderful donation to bring my friends and crew as we only had a few days off to experience these places.”
He continued: “And then I found out that people wanted to take pictures with me, which is very strange, on a trip to the Vatican with all this wonder and they want to take pictures with me, which I do not understand, but whatever, I did.
“I was very respectful and asked permission for what I thought would be fine. I would never want to do anything to disrespect someone’s culture. If I did, I apologize. It was not my intention. I paid to have this private moment and made a nice donation to the church. I like You. I’m sorry if I offended you.”
In addition to visiting historical sites in Italy, Momoa has been filming for his upcoming movie “Fast X.” It is the sequel to “F9” and is the 10th main installment in the “Fast & Furious” franchise.
The film – which also stars Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron, Sung Kang and John Cena – has a May 2023 release date.
