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Jonah Hill Apologizes For Homophobic Slur

NEW YORK (CBS NEW YORK/AP) — Jonah Hill has apologized for using a gay slur with a paparazzo in an encounter caught on video.

A video posted Tuesday by TMZ shows a photographer pestering Hill, who eventually responded with muttered expletives and an anti-gay expression.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who most recently appeared in Martin Scorcese's "The Wolf Of Wall Street," has apologized while on his round of talk show interviews.  

On Tuesday, Hill appeared on "The Howard Stern Show" and acknowledged that he said "a disgusting word." Hill went on to say that the word "does not at all reflect how I feel about any group of people." He said that he's been a gay-rights activist "from the day I was born."

Later, on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," the 30-year-old actor revealed that he'd been harassed by the paparazzo, claiming he said "hurtful things" about Hill and his family and prompting Hill to retaliate.

"In response, I wanted to hurt him back, and I said the most hurtful word that I could think of at that moment," Hill stated on the late night talk show. 

Hill said the word "does not at all reflect how I feel about any group of people." He said that he's been a gay-rights activist "from the day I was born."

Earlier this year, Hill promoted a Human Rights Campaign effort opposing anti-gay laws in Russia ahead of the Winter Olympics.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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