"I LOVE YOU ITALY what a beautiful start to our day off enjoying ROMA," Momoa, 42, wrote in the post's caption. Momoa is in Italy filming "Fast X," the next installment in the "Fast & Furious" franchise."
Soon, fans began pointing out that photography is prohibited and called out what they deemed a double standard.
"We, regular people, are not allowed to film inside the Sistine chapel," one user wrote.
"We can't take pics but ofc celebrities can," another wrote. "Nothing against Jason ( I adore him) but it's not fair."
Momoa addressed the criticism in a video shared with Just Jared on Saturday, saying he didn't mean to offend anyone's culture. He also posted the video on his Instagram account.
"I just also wanted to say, if you ever felt that I disrespected your culture, it wasn't my intention," Momoa said. "I came here when I was 19 or 20 to experience the Sistine Chapel. I've always wanted to, and now that I can, I gave a wonderful donation to bring my friends and crew because we only had a couple days off to experience these places."
The "Aquaman" star continued that fans wanted to take photos with him once he arrived.
"And then I found people wanted to take pictures with me, which is very odd, during a trip to the Vatican with all this wonder and they want to take pictures with me, which I don't get, but regardless, I did," he said. "I was very respectful, and I asked for permission from what I thought would be okay.
Momoa finished his statement by saying he'd "never want to do anything to disrespect someone's culture. If I did, I apologize. It was not my intention."
"I paid to have that private moment and gave a nice donation to the church. I love you. I'm sorry if I offended you," he said.
Representatives for Momoa and the Sistine Chapel did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
In January, the official "Fast & Furious" Twitter account revealed that Momoa would appear in "Fast X." He confirmed in an Entertainment Tonight interview that he will play a villain.
"I get to play the bad guy, which I haven't gotten to do for a while. Now, I get to be the bad boy. A very flamboyant bad boy," he told the outlet.
The film is scheduled to release in theatres on May 19, 2023.
