Jason Momoa has apologized for capturing photos and videos of the Sistine Chapel during a recent visit.
The “Aquaman” star came to Instagram earlier this week to share photos of himself enjoying the artwork within the Apostolic Palace. The only issue is that photographing is prohibited since flash might damage the art.
Momoa captioned his image, “I LOVE YOU ITALY what a lovely start to our day off enjoying ROMA.” Fans were upset, and some even suspected the 42-year-old actor was given preferential treatment.
“We, ordinary folks, are not permitted to video inside the Sistine Chapel,” one user said. “We can’t take pictures, but celebs can,” another admirer added. “Nothing against Jason (I like him), but it’s not fair.”
Following the reaction, Momoa made an apologetic video, which Just Jared posted.
Momoa stated that he also wanted to clarify that if anyone ever felt he offended their culture, that was not his goal. He came here when he was about 19 or 20 to see the Sistine Chapel. He always wanted to go, and now that he can, he made a generous gift to accompany his friends and crew as they only had a few days off to visit these places.
He proceeded that then he discovered individuals wanting to take photographs with him, which is quite unusual, on a trip to the Vatican with all this awe and they wanted to take pictures with him, which he didn’t understand, but anyway, he did. He was polite and sought permission to do what he believed was appropriate. He would never do anything to offend someone’s culture. If he did, please accept his apologies. That was not his objective. He paid for that quiet moment and made a generous gift to the church. He apologized if he insulted anyone.
In addition to seeing ancient places in Italy, Momoa has been filming for his forthcoming thriller “Fast X.” It is the 10th major chapter in the “Fast & Furious” franchise and the sequel to “F9.” The picture, which also stars Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron, Sung Kang, and John Cena, will be released in May 2023.
