Brett Ratner and Eddie Murphy quit Oscars over gay slur
By Tribute on November 10, 2011 | 32 Comments
Brett Ratner, director of Tower Heist, submitted his resignation as a producer of the 84th annual Academy Awards a day after apologizing for using a gay slur at a recent screening of his latest film.
Ratner, who got Eddie Murphy on board as 2012’s host, then issued an open letter to the entertainment industry in which he explained his decision.
In a letter beginning, “Dear Colleagues,” Ratner (famous for the Rush Hour films) apologized for “the hurtful and stupid things I said in a number of recent media appearances. As difficult as the last few days have been for me, they cannot compare to the experience of any young man or woman who has been the target of offensive slurs or derogatory comments.”
“He did the right thing for the Academy and for himself,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “Words have meaning, and they have consequences. Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable. We all hope this will be an opportunity to raise awareness about the harm that is caused by reckless and insensitive remarks, regardless of the intent.”
Following this statement, Eddie Murphy has also withdrawn as host of the 84th Academy Awards. “I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well,” said Sherak.
Commented Murphy, “First and foremost I want to say that I completely understand and support each party’s decision with regard to a change of producers for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. I was truly looking forward to being a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I’m sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job.”
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Ratner looks quite like a gay himself. Homophobic people & people who make gay slurs are most often those who are afraid of, or doubt their own sexuality. The slurs & rude comments are meant to steer suspicion away from themselves & to try to convince themselves that they are not gay.
Oh I can’t wait to hear this one – do tell Tayderhead, what does ‘a gay’ look like???
Exactly Judith! How sad that tayderhead actually thinks they are saying something supportive! People who are ignorant and rude are just that, they’re not trying to cover up their sexuality. Please don’t place them in the same place as those who are truly struggling with their identities.
Oh my calm down i don’t think he was trying to offend anyone. But he is partly correct. I knew i guy in High school that was the worst for gay bashing, and turned out he was gay. It all made sense afterwards. But as for looks…. He didn’t look gay lol
tell me,Mr.Murphy does a tran hooker qulify as ‘gay”?
or idd you by hiring ‘her’ feel it minimised your tendancies?
Homosexuality is described as being ‘detestable’ in the Bible. It is living in sin which seperates us from God. The way to salvation is to be ‘dead to sin but alive to God in Jesus’. Going to hell is sure going to offend alot of people.
OK Ernie and Bert are gay…there…i said it!
…and Big Bird…but i think most people knew that one already!
@ashlee — WTF are you talking about? You sound bitter like Eddie personally offended you! As for “looking gay” No, not all gay people look gay. MANY of them choose what they call the “flaming” look to accentuate the fact that they are. However some times this is just a rouse as well — where they personify the “culture” through the flaming style and really aren’t gay. So I think the whole idea that you can identify a homosexual through looks or what they sound like is very defamatory. I don’t think Brett was trying to be hurtful with his words (more so funny) but he sure learned a lesson that you always have to watch what you say. Plain and simple.
You guys are all Gay!
Gays are an interesting form of life. They make up only a tiny percentage of our population and can’t physically reproduce (if they lived according to their ‘nature’) but we’ve given them the disproportional influence to make society accept, support, and in some cases confuse people into thinking they themselves, if only temporarily, are gay. Remarkable. They can even make the rest of us afraid to call a fag a fag and through their gay mafia strong arm tactics stifle any critical examination of their true impact on society. Scary.
John and Julie you need to wake up…. Religion is dead. My god doesn’t throw people he “loves” into a bottomless pit. I wonder sometimes how people can call themselves worshipers of God but sound Evil. God is supposed to be about love and acceptance so who are you really worshiping?
PS I know John didn’t say anything about religion. But his post was full of Crap. “Gay Mafi strong-arm” have you lost your mind. Or is that another thing that Gays “make” you do? There are alot of problems in this world, the Gay pollution should be the least of our concerns. Dont worry about the Church or the corporations of this world who corrupt our government and our culture. We should be worried about gay people. Give me A F**king break.
Yes the guy should apologize for offending people. Gay or straight is about someones’s private LOVE life. God is a god of love. Those who follow the Bible to the letter-‘homosexuality is a sin’- should look at their lives. Making the sabbath holy or doing your laundry after church? Gossiping or cutting your tongue out if it offends you? an eye for an eye?
becoming your husband’s possession? using contraceptives? welcome to the year 2010
And it’s not about religion, that has NOTHING to do with it, Joshua. Maybe you need to read his comment because reproduce belongs with SCIENCE. Gay people cannot reproduce, that is a FACT. Now, what he meant to say is that everyone that is not gay and is a male, is repressed and ridiculed as if he committed a f***ing genocide just because of one word. These are words and they mean NOTHING when they are used as jokes. Oh, what? Only gay people can say “fag” just because of their sexual orientation? Only gay people can dress flamboyant and go in the nude on gay parade but others who are not gay, can?
That seems pretty sexist and racist if you ask me. Or, it’s “homophobic” and “intolerant” in your world, I’m sure. I’m glad he resigned from that rigged awards show that gives Oscars to shitty movies like the King’s Speech and doesn’t give even one to 127 Hours which clearly deserved best actor. The only reason MILK won at the oscars is because it was about gay rights.
It’s all politics and double standards with gay people. Don’t get me wrong, I have no beef with their sexual orientation, I just have a problem with the way it’s used in the media and in politics. Omg I said Fag, IT’S THE END OF THE GODDAMN WORLD! WHAT ARE YOU WE GONNA DO?! OH HOW COULD HE DARE SAY THAT? THAT INTOLERANT HOMOPHOBES!
Do you Neanderthals listen to yourselves?
I really think this has gone way overboard. This is why I no longer watch the Academy Awards. If gays can walk around and speak openly about it then why is it such a calamity if someone who doesn’t agree says something against it?
So much for freedom of speech.
i totally agree with Dirk, seems they are the only ones with opinions. They’re is no freedom of speech anymore, the lawyers see to that.
Well, that Ratner guy seems like a homophobe. I hate people who say something like this about people who are different. Besides that point, this years Oscars was going to be great with Eddie Murphy, but now all I hope is that Billy Crystal is host. Just saying 😉
tayderhead only happens to be an expert on gays cause every morning he sees one staring back at him in a mirror
>>>Oliva on November 11, 2011 1:25 AM<<<
Or perhaps Ellen DeGeneres!;).
“My god doesn��t throw people he �loves�� into
a bottomless pit.”
Your Right there isn’t a bottomless pit called Hell. Somehow someone and IWI, Jehovah’s Witnesses had a hand in this mostly, have taught a lot of people that there is No Hell. It Never made Any Sense to me that there is a Hell!! I was taught when I was a child that there is a Hell. It just didn’t jig with my Reality back then and not now either! It can Not be proven!
The fact that Eddie Murphy would resign for losing a homophobic director makes him to blame as well. He should have stayed. Lately there have been a number of gay teens whom have used suicide as a means to escape the bullying, torment and isolation that they are living with. incidents like this reinforce these messages. Freedom of speech does not allow for bigoted statements. In Canada, that is a hate crime. Hate crimes exist even when hidden begging religious dogma. When someone spoke earlier of the power of gays to make society accept them despite there small numbers; the highest suicide rate is within that population. If it was your child or loved one, how would freedom of speach or deep diving into misinterpretation of religious texts console you?
hidden behind religious dogma….. (iPhone)
I didn’t know everybody can see a person if he/she is gay …..Do we all gay people have a sign somewhere (sorry I can’t find mine…)? I think Mr Brett is just another IDIOT…..Like many in that business…
@Joshua at your second post starting with PS you said “…the Gay POLLUTION should be the least of our concerns…”
Typo, or…?
>>>LuvMyVamps! on November 11, 2011 4:58 AM<<<
Oh that would be Awesome!
how many HETEROSEXUALS,living the so-called STRAIGHT life ,,have BOYFRIENDS,,,MORE THAN U MIGHT THINK!!!
o,by the way, RATtner looks like a Di_k
I just read all your comments and I just have 1 thing to say about all of this. Gays should have never been acknowledged. That’s just not normal behavour. and i know some of you are going to say ‘well define normal’. Normal is what we know…and since gays are a small percentage that means they are not the ones with the normal behavour. Tay=–head…said in a post here”people who make gay slurs are most often those who are afraid of, or doubt their own sexuality. The slurs & rude comments are meant to steer suspicion away from themselves & to try to convince themselves that they are not gay”…what a bunch of rubbish. i dont like the concept of ‘gays’…that doesnt mean i’m trying to convince myself that i’m not gay too. give your head a shake! Each to their own you wanna be gay go ahead…stay away from me….the straight one.
Hey if you can’t make fun of those people, who can you?
At the end of the day… who cares…
People… Billy Crystal is hosting the Oscars again – order is restored!
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