Liam Neeson finds an unlikely defender (sort of) in Trevor Noah

In a week when Liam Neeson did himself no favors again and again, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah unexpectedly had his back -- to a point.

Neeson came up during a "Between the Scenes" segment on The Daily Show, a time when Noah takes questions from the live studio audience while commercials run for TV viewers at home. These snippets often end up on YouTube, and this one -- in which Noah addresses the question: "What do you think about Liam Neeson's recent admission that he tried to kill a black person?" -- did.

In an almost four-minute response, Noah breaks down what happened with Neeson, both in the original interview and in the aftermath. It's an insightful look at the situation, free of anger or judgment, that suggests Neeson's face-value admission might have landed better in a different interview environment.

Noah of course also goes on to point out that Neeson did himself zero favors during a subsequent apology tour that largely consisted of him insisting he's not actually racist. But he delivers a brutal reality check on cancel culture and online backlash, and the influence those things can have on shaping a conversation.