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IRISH film-maker John Carney has issued an apology to Keira Knightley after he harshly criticised the actress in an interview earlier this week.Unlike most Hollywood apologies that come via an agent, Carney took to Twitter to personally make amends for slating Knightley's acting skills and her singing ability.

Like a modern-day open letter, Carney composed his apology on his notes app, which he then screenshot and tweeted, with the line "From a director who feels like a complete idiot."

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"Recently, in a phone interview, the conversation turned to a discussion about a past film, Begin Again, starring Keira Knightley," he begins."I said a number of things about Keira which were petty, mean, and hurtful.I'm ashamed of myself that I could say such things and I've been trying to account for what they say about me."

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A number of other directors who have also worked with the star, including Mark Romanek and Lorene Scafaria, as well as Knightley's fans, leapt to her defence on Twitter.One user said "#johncarney it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools.@jayceefactory #KeiraKnightley".Addressing this, Carney admitted "in trying to pick holes in my own work, I ended up blaming someone else.That's not only bad directing, that's shoddy behaviour, that I am not in any way proud of."

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Carney, who also alleges that he apologised privately to Knightley, concluded his letter by apologising to fans and friends of the star, "and anyone else who I have offended.It's not something that I could ever justify, and will never repeat".