Christian Cooper asks to stop death threats against woman who called police during discussion in Central Park

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(CNN) - Christian Cooper, whose video of a woman who called police while he watched birds went viral over Memorial Day weekend, accepted the woman's apology but said her act was "definitely racist "

"I think his apology is sincere," Cooper told CNN's Don Lemon on Tuesday night. "I am not sure that in that apology she acknowledges that although she is not and does not consider herself racist, that particular act was definitely racist."

READ: White woman who called the police for a black man who watched birds in Central Park was fired

“And the fact that that was his recourse at the time - granted, it was a stressful situation, a sudden situation - you know, maybe a spectacularly poor moment of judgment. But she did it and had this racist act. "

The woman, Amy Cooper, said in previous comments to CNN that she wanted to "publicly apologize to everyone." Lemon's team invited the woman to appear on the show alongside Christian Cooper on Monday, but had not heard from her on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, the New York City Human Rights Commission said it is investigating the incident.

The two met Monday morning in Central Park in New York while she was walking her dog. They share the same last name, but are not related.

They both told CNN that the interaction started because her dog was not on a leash, violating the rules in that area. Moments later, a video recorded by Christian Cooper shows the woman saying that she was going to call the police and "was going to tell them that there was a black man threatening my life."

She was fired from her job the next day, after being briefly placed on administrative leave.

"After our internal review of the Central Park incident yesterday, we made the decision to fire the employee involved, with immediate effect. We do not tolerate any kind of racism at Franklin Templeton, ”the company said on Twitter on Tuesday.

"I am not racist. I didn't mean to hurt that man in any way, ”Amy Cooper had said in her previous apology, adding that she also didn't want to do any harm to the black community.

"Is she racist? I can't answer that, ”Christian Cooper told Lemon on Tuesday. "Only she can answer that. And I would say that probably the only way it will respond is in the future. How she behaves and how she chooses to reflect on this situation and examine it. "

In an interview with NPR, he said: "Should it be defined for a couple of seconds? I can't answer that. I think that depends on her and what she does in the future. "

He says he never expected the video to explode like it did. He said he hoped that if they both went to the Lemon show on Tuesday, it would help close something that had "grown disproportionately."

He said he assumes that she probably also received a significant amount of messages, like him, but urged those who do come to stay civilized.

"I have been told that there have been death threats and that is totally inappropriate and abhorrent and must be stopped immediately," said Christian Cooper.

"I find it strange that people who were upset by ... that she tried to threaten me with the police now try to threaten her with death. Where's the logic in that? ” he said. "How does that make sense?"