The statement was made at the annual shareholders’ meeting at the Warner Bros studio in Burbank, California. (David) Ridenour asked: “What specific steps will Time Warner take to ensure that Mr Freeman avoids such divisive and insulting words while promoting his next Warner Bros film, The Dark Knight Rises?”

The shareholder, who runs a conservative thinktank, said Freeman’s views may have caused filmgoers to avoid Dolphin Tale, which performed more weakly than had been expected at the US box office last year. However, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said there was not much the company could do even if that were the case.

“What can we do about it? Is that the question? Not much,” he said, to a smattering of applause. “It doesn’t usually have a significant commercial effect on the success of the film.