Billy Crystal has claimed that the controversial comments he made about same-sex love scenes had been taken out of context.

The When Harry Met Sally star made pointed remarks about the current state of sex on television, as he appeared on the Television Critics Association’s press tour panel to promote his new TV show, The Comedians.

Billy Crystal with Josh Gad
Billy with his Comedians co-star Josh Gad (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

The 66-year-old actor, who played one of the first openly gay characters on prime-time TV in 1970s sitcom Soap, said: “I’ve seen some stuff recently on TV in different kinds of shows where the language or the explicit sex is really, you know, sometimes I get it, and sometimes I just feel like, ‘Ah, that’s too much for me’.”

He added: “Sometimes it’s just pushed a little too far for my tastes, and I’m not going to get into which ones they are… And now it’s just I see it and I just hope people don’t abuse it and shove it in our face, well, that sounds terrible to the point of it just feels like an everyday kind of thing.”

Billy’s remarks have outraged viewers.

Billy has since tried to clarify his comments, explaining that gratuitous sex and nudity – both heterosexual and homosexual – can be too much for him to watch on screen.

“What I meant was that whenever sex or graphic nudity of any kind (gay or straight) is gratuitous to the plot or story it becomes a little too much for my taste,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.