Everett apologizes for military remarks

LONDON, June 10 (UPI) -- British film star Rupert Everett has issued an apology after remarks he made about contemporary soldiers being "wimps" caused a media firestorm.

Everett, who has starred in "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "My Best Friend's Wedding," told The Sunday Telegraph modern-day soldiers are "wimps" who are "always whining about the dangers of being killed."

Everett was speaking about the military as he promoted "The Victorian Sex Explorer," a documentary about Army officer and adventurer Richard Burton, in which Everett acts as narrator and guide.

The BBC said the actor's comments were published the same day three British soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan.

Everett later said he was trying to make the point that, "We still go to war but actually we haven't the stomach for it."

"It seems to me that embracing war means accepting its underbelly as well, torture and the unspeakable violence that spirals from the battlefield to its surroundings," Everett said in a statement issued to the BBC. "My flippant and irresponsible behavior arises from a deep frustration at the fact that we seem to be continually making war, dreaming up new ones, instead of doing everything we can to avoid them."