Elijah Wood has clarified some sensational comments he made during an interview with a British publication recently, where he appeared to claim that there was an underworld of child abuse in Hollywood that was much like that of the Jimmy Savile scandal in the UK.

Elijah WoodElijah Wood explains what he meant by Times comments

The 'Lord Of The Rings' actor who was once a child star in Hollywood has pointed out in a string of comments on Twitter that he has no first hand knowledge of any such goings on in Hollywood barring what he has read about and what he discovered in the 2015 documentary film 'An Open Secret'.

'The Sunday Times interviewed me about my latest film but the story became about something else entirely. It prompted a number of false and misleading headlines', he told his followers. 'I had just seen a powerful documentary and I briefly spoke with the reporter about the subject which had consequences I did not intend or expect. Lesson learned. Let me be clear: This subject of child abuse is an important one that should be discussed and properly investigated. But as I made absolutely clear to the writer, I have no first hand experience or observation of the topic, so I cannot speak with any authority beyond articles I have read and films I have seen.'

More: Elijah Wood reportedly reveals rife sex abuse in Hollywood

The response comes after the Times published their interview with Wood, in which he expressed his sympathy with Britons over the many people who suffered at the hands of once-beloved radio and TV presented Jimmy Savile. 'Jesus, it must have been devastating', he said. 'Clearly something major was going on in Hollywood. It was all organised. There are a lot of vipers in this industry - people who only have their own interests in mind.'

He went on to say that his mother made sure he never became a victim, educating him and making sure he 'never went to parties where that kind of thing was going on'. 

While obviously it is true that Hollywood has its own share of abuse among the rich and famous, suggestions that Wood was referring to any particular circle with clarity have now been made clear to be entirely false by the actor himself.