WATCH: Jonah Hill Apologizes for Homophobic Slur on “The Tonight Show”

“The word I chose was grotesque and no one deserves to say or hear words like that," Hill said.

Jonah Hill made an emotional apology during his appearance on "The Tonight Show" for using a homophobic slur in a recent encounter with a paparazzo.

"I’d actually like to address something if it’s OK with your audience," Hill said to Jimmy Fallon. “Unfortunately, this isn’t a joke."

The “22 Jump Street” star explained that a photographer was harassing him and he was “genuinely hurt by this and made angry by this." He said he responded with “the most hurtful word I could think of at that moment.”

At that point, Hill said to the photographer, "Suck my d--k, you f----t," he said.

“I didn’t mean this in the sense of the word. I didn’t mean it in a homophobic way,” he said, pausing for a moment. “The word I chose was grotesque, and no one deserves to say or hear words like that.”

Hill explained that he has been a “supporter of the LGBTQ community” and that he had let the community down by throwing the slur at the photographer.

“My heart’s broken, and I am genuinely and deeply sorry to anyone who has ever been affected by that term in their life,” he said. He added that he hoped that people would use his mistake as “an example of what not to do” in a heated situation.

“I don't deserve or expect your forgiveness, but what I ask is that at home—" Hill said into the camera. "If you're watching this, and you're a young person especially, if someone says something that hurts you or angers you, use me as an example of what not to do, and don't respond with hatred or anger. Because you're just adding more ugliness to the world.”

“I know I'm usually funny and stuff, but this wasn't funny,” Hill said. “It was stupid, and I deserve the s–t I'm gonna get for it.”

Fallon brought spirits up by unwittingly making a small joke.

"It's good that you came out," Fallon said, as the audience laughed at the double meaning of the statement.

Hill made a similar apology earlier Tuesday during an interview on "The Howard Stern Show." "I am happy to be the poster boy for thinking about what you say," the "Superbad" star told Stern.

On the "Tonight Show," the discussion turned to Hill's latest movie, "22 Jump Street," which reunites him with "21 Jump Street" co-stars Channing Tatum and Ice Cube.

According to Hill, he and Tatum could never make Cube laugh while on set, but one day the pair was on a plane with the rapper and he was laughing uncontrollably while watching a movie on his laptop.

Hill and Tatum walked by and discovered Cube was watching the 1995 movie "Friday," in which he appears.

"He was watching his own movie," Hill said. "He couldn't get enough of it."

Watch Hill's apology above. You can also hear the interview below.

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