Diller apologizes for Durst comment

Media mogul Barry Diller apologized for the unrestrained comments he made last week toward Douglas Durst.

Diller, who has accused Durst [TRDataCustom] of secretly funding a lawsuit attempting to block his $200 million Hudson River park project, escalated his feud with the real estate executive when he spoke at a Vanity Fair panel last week.

While discussing his legal battle over the park, Diller called the Durst family a “killing machine,” a reference to Douglas’ brother Robert whose alleged role in several murders was detailed in the HBO series “The Jinx.”

“He should have killed his brother,” Diller said during the panel.

He later walked back those comments.

“I want to apologize for the intemperate remark I made about Douglas Durst at the Vanity Fair meeting. Of course I didn’t mean it, but nevertheless it was reckless and wrong,” Diller wrote in an email to The Real Deal.

Diller, chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp, accused Durst last month of secretly funding a lawsuit filed by the City Club of New York challenging his plan to build a park on the Hudson River.

The nonprofit blasted Diller over his remarks.

“These despicable comments show how arrogant and self-absorbed Diller is,” said Tom Fox, a member of the City Club of New York. “Barry Diller is delusional. This suit is not about Douglas Durst. Diller is bent on destroying the environment and abusing both the public process and environmental laws to fulfill his own fantasies.”

A spokesperson for Durst declined to comment.