Jonah Hill Vows to 'Never Ever Use' a Homophobic Slur Again

And he's urging everyone else to do the same.

ByABC News
June 4, 2014, 9:34 AM

June 4, 2014 — -- Jonah Hill is voicing a call to action when it comes to using words that put down people.

The "22 Jump Street" actor has been apologetic this week after using a gay slur aimed at a photographer over the weekend -- and now he is promising never to use language like that again.

"It’s never OK to use that kind of language," Hill told "Good Morning America" today. "I personally vow to never ever use that word again and I urge everyone to do the same."

Read: Repentant Jonah Hill Admits Using ‘Disgusting Word’ in Gay Slur

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Hill, 30, added that "words can be really destructive. And this kind of defamatory language can have a profound effect on someone who’s questioning their sexuality."

The actor had similar sentiments earlier this week on Howard Stern's radio show, that he's happy to get the brunt of the blowback if it will help change the way people treat each other or say to one another.

"I am happy to be the poster boy for thinking about what you say, and how those words, even if you don’t intend them in how they mean, they are rooted in hate, and … I shouldn’t have said that," he told Stern.

Hill also explained why the incident happened in the first place.

“This person had been following me around all day, had been saying hurtful things about my family, really hurtful things about me personally,” Hill said. “I played into exactly what he wanted and lost my cool. And in that moment, I said a disgusting word that does not at all reflect how I feel about any group of people.”