Russell Crowe apologizes for circumcision tweets

(CBS/AP) Australian actor Russell Crowe is apologizing - again.

This time, the Oscar-winning actor says he regrets some insensitive Twitter messages he sent earlier this week when he inserted himself into the middle of San Francisco's debate over male circumcision.

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In a series of comments on his Twitter account Thursday, Crowe scoffed at the argument that clipping the foreskin serves the cause of hygiene, and declared a newborn baby to be perfect on delivery. He called the practice "barbaric and stupid."

His 140-character tirades were triggered by a tweeted inquiry from the expectant parent of a son who asked, "Do you think I should get him circumstanced?"

Hours later, he appeared to having second thoughts about his cutting remarks, which by then had vanished from his account.

"I realize that some will interpret this debate as me mocking the rituals and traditions of others," he said in a fresh tweet on Friday. "I am very sorry.'' And in another post, he declared, "I have a deep and abiding love for all people of all nationalities .."

Echoing those sentiments in a statement released by his media representative on Friday, he said, "I am deeply sorry for any distress I have caused by my insensitive remarks."

The medical benefits of circumcision have lately become a heated topic of discussion in the parenting community as San Francisco voters face a proposal on the November ballot to ban the circumcision of male children under the age of 18. Opponents say a ban on a religious rite considered sacred by Jews and Muslims would be a blatant violation of constitutional rights.

Among the apologies the 47-year-old actor has issued in the past were those for a shoving and cursing match with the TV producer who edited down his acceptance speech at the British Film Awards, a barroom brawl outside a London pub in 2003, and a destructive rampage in a New York hotel.