Tom Hiddleston apologises for 'white saviour' Golden Globes speech

Tom Hiddleston has issued an apology after facing criticism for a speech he gave at Monday's Golden Globes ceremony.

Hiddleston won Best Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Motion Picture for his performance as Hotel night porter Jonathan Pine in The Night Manager. However, his win has been overshadowed by a speech that sparked criticism and mockery after he told a story about his humanitarian work in Sudan seen by many as making the issue about him.

In a post on Facebook, Hiddleston accepted the criticism and apologised for his remarks, blaming them on his nerves.

I just wanted to say… I completely agree that my speech at the Golden Globes last night was inelegantly expressed. In...

Posted by Tom Hiddleston on Monday, 9 January 2017

"I completely agree that my speech at the Golden Globes last night was inelegantly expressed. In truth, I was very nervous, and my words just came out wrong," the actor wrote.

He stressed that he only wanted to raise awareness of the various charities and "salute the brave men and women" who work for them.

The post has garnered over 53,000 likes since being posted three hours ago and over 4,000 comments in support of the actor.

Tom Hiddleston poses in the press room with the award for best performance by an actor in a limited series or a motion picture made for television forThe Night Manager. Photo / AP

Hiddleston faced backlash after telling a story about the humanitarian work he does in South Sudan with the United Nations Children's Fund (with whom he has been volunteering since 2013).

He recalled that he encountered a group medics from Médecins Sans Frontières‎ who "wanted to say hello" to Hiddleston because: "during the shelling the previous month they had binge-watched The Night Manager".

Hiddleston continued: "The idea that I could, or that we could provide, some relief and entertainment for people who work for Unicef and Médecins Sans Frontières and The World Food Programme who are fixing the world in the places where it was broken made me immensely proud".

The speech, which included a reference to South Sudan as "the world's youngest country" - South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but has been populated since the 10th century - has been criticised on social media, with people accusing Hiddleston of making himself the centre of a far greater humanitarian crisis and portraying himself as a "white saviour".

This is Tom Hiddleston's "did I ever tell you about the time I went backpacking in Europe?" story to get laid #GoldenGlobes

— Michelle Markowitz (@michmarkowitz) January 9, 2017

"A quick story: I was in South Sudan and everyone said the ONLY thing they care about is my performance in Netflix's The Crown"

— Caity Weaver (@caityweaver) January 9, 2017

I see T-Hiddle's white saviour complex is still alive and well. 🙊

— god-killer bee 🌸 (@bellezzavitale) January 9, 2017

In one night I witnessed Tom's white saviour speech and found out Ryan and Blake got married on a plantation. White faves are exhausting

— 🇭🇳🇮🇪🇯🇲🌹 (@Frostbite___) January 9, 2017

Others have pointed out the reactions of Hiddleston's fellow ceremony attendees:

Oh. Even the other white male actors are cringing at the Saviour Complex speech Hiddleston just gave. #GoldenGlobes

— Aylan (AY like Day - LAN like LandBack) Couchie (@AylanX) January 9, 2017

The lack of interest in Tom Hiddleston's story about his show is my everything https://t.co/vsTHCK0WQK

— DL (@davelozo) January 9, 2017

#GoldenGlobes director cutting to the #StrangerThings kids during Tom Hiddleston's speech about Sudan was A CHOICE pic.twitter.com/LWPOmXkbbM

— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) January 9, 2017

While few could ignore an opportunity to make a joke about Hiddleston's former relationship with Taylor Swift, last summer:

This Tom Hiddleston speech is the final leg of the Taylor Swift Relationship Redemption Tour

— Doree Shafrir (@doree) January 9, 2017

This article was originally published by The Telegraph.