For the record, Val Kilmer loves New Mexico. Honest.
And just in case anyone think differently, the movie star has taken out a newspaper ad expressing his devotion to his fellow New Mexicans.
In an open letter published in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Kilmer thanks friends for sticking by him after a furor erupted over negative remarks he supposedly gave Rolling Stone about his home state.
In one of the strangest stories to emerge out of the "Land of Enchantment" since aliens touched down in Roswell, Kilmer has found himself on the defensive since Rolling Stone quoted him calling his town the "homicide capital of the Southwest."
Kilmer, 43, who owns a ranch in Pecos (population: 1,400), nestled deep in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range east of Santa Fe, claims he never dissed the rural town.
Instead, Kilmer says Rolling Stone misquoted him during an interview appearing in the October 16 issue. The Kilmer Q&A was intended to hype his new movie Wonderland, in which he plays late porn star John Holmes, but what came out in print didn't exactly warm hearts over at the chamber of commerce.
"Eighty percent of the people in my county are drunk. So driving home on the highway, especially with kids, [carrying a gun is] just a precaution," Kilmer is quoted as saying.
The magazine also portrayed the actor affecting a hickish demeanor and saying, "We shoot the automatic weapons at the trespassers and people a different color than us."
Kilmer's supposed remarks sparked criticism from some locals. Among the most vocal was State Senator Phil Griego of San Jose, who blasted the Real Genius star and told him to leave if he doesn't like living there.
The actor quickly sought to snuff the controversy. He said he was a big fan of New Mexico, noting his family has roots in state (his father grew up in the state and is buried there).
"I love my state and Pecos where I live," he says in his letter.
He adds that he was disappointed by the quotes attributed to him and claims his Pecos neighbors have welcomed him with open arms.
Rolling Stone rep Claudia Diromauldo says the magazine stands by its story. Kilmer's publicist, Paul Bloch, had no comment.
Meanwhile, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson called Kilmer a "great New Mexican" and attempted to mediate the dispute by inviting the actor and Griego to the governor's mansion for dinner Thursday night.
While Griego couldn't make it due to health reasons, Kilmer accepted and, as a member of the state's film commission, spoke with Richardson about how to raise New Mexico's profile within the film industry, including possibly offering free loans and tax breaks to create more jobs.
When he's not stirring controversy, Mr. New Mexico keeps busy with his day job. He received solid reviews for his star turn in Wonderland, which opened in limited release October 3. But an anticipated reunion with his Top Gun rival Tom Cruise in the Michael Mann thriller Collateral has been scuttled because it interfered with Kilmer's shooting schedule for Oliver Stone's epic Alexander, in which Kilmer plays Philip, king of Macedonia and father of Colin Farrell's Alexander the Great.