Channing Tatum has defended his 22 Jump Street co-star Jonah Hill after he called a TMZ photographer a “faggot” last week.

After a clip surfaced of the gay slur, Hill quickly appeared on Howard Stern’s radio show apologising for the incident, and continued his damage control blitz with an appearance on Good Morning America, telling how “words can be really destructive”.

34 year-old Tatum told Extra that he believed Hill’s apology was “genuine and from the heart, unlike others”. He continued, “I can honestly say that is not who he is. The apology came off well and he did it well because he really means it, that wasn’t who he was that day”.

Hill was provoked by a TMZ paparazzo, who was teasing his outfit and had reportedly been following the actor all day. The two-time Academy Award nominee has said since the incident, “It’s just about owning up to when you mess up in life, and hopefully some people can learn from the mistakes that I’ve made in my life and that’s it”.

22 Jump Street opened to impressive figures last week with a $2.8 million opening day in the UK, outpacing its first installment, which was released in 2012.