"We, regular people, are not allowed to film inside the Sistine Chapel," one user commented. Someone else said, "We can't take pics but ofc [sic] celebrities can. Nothing against Jason (I adore him) but it's not fair."
"All I remember about that place was 'no photos please'," another comment read.
The actor must have taken the backlash to heart because he posted a fairly sincere apology video just a few days later.
"I just also wanted to say, if you ever felt that I disrespected your culture, it wasn't my intention," Momoa said.
"I came here when I was 19 or 20 to experience the Sistine Chapel. I've always wanted to and now that I can, I gave a wonderful donation to bring my friends and crew because we only had a couple days off to experience these places."
He continued, "And then I found people wanted to take pictures with me, which is very odd, during a trip to the Vatican with all this wonder and they want to take pictures with me, which I don't get, but regardless, I did.
"I was very respectful and I asked for permission from what I thought, would be okay. I would never want to do anything to disrespect someone's culture. If I did, I apologise. It was not my intention. I paid to have that private moment and gave a nice donation to the church. I love you. I'm sorry if I offended you."
Momoa has been visiting historic Italian sites while on break from shooting his upcoming blockbuster Fast X. It will be the 10th main instalment in the Fast & Furious franchise.
Fast X will release in May 2023 and also stars Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron, Sung Kang and John Cena.
