Actor goes on TV to apologise for MH17 joke

Jason Biggs is in hot water for making a joke on Twitter about the Malaysian Airlines disaster in Ukraine. Photo / Getty Images

Actor Jason Biggs is hoping to move on from the backlash he received for making an insensitive joke about the Malaysia Airlines flight disaster after repeating his apology on US TV.

The American Pie star, who now appears in Orange Is The New Black, apologised again for his controversial tweet while co-hosting daytime talk show The View on Monday.

Biggs found himself under fire last week after tweeting about the Malaysia Airlines plane that was shot down over Ukraine last Thursday, killing 298 people, including up to 39 Australian citizens and residents.

"Anyone wanna buy my Malaysia Airlines frequent flier miles?" Biggs tweeted.

Biggs was initially defiant over his comments, insisting it was a "joke", but he later returned to Twitter to try and make amends for his bad behaviour.

On Monday, he appeared as a guest co-host on The View and opened the show by revisiting the issue once more to clear up any doubts about his sincerity.

"I certainly meant no harm, there was no malice behind it, but I was stupid ... It was offensive, it was poorly timed," Biggs explained.

"I have always tried to find the humour in even the darkest of situations, whether it's personal tragedy or bad news of any kind. It's a knee-jerk reaction for me. It's how I cope but this is not the time ..." he said.

The actor admitted he had only heard the breaking news of the crash when he tweeted about it and was unaware of the subsequent developments as he battled his critics online, but he accepts he was in the wrong.

"I also wasn't aware of the extent and the magnitude of what had happened. It was very quick, I didn't think and I wasn't aware of what was happening and what was transpiring and the extent of just how horrible this tragedy was," Biggs added.

"I have nothing but sympathy for the victims and their families, but I've learned a lot from here and I'd like to move on from it."

- AAP