It seems like it was only hours ago that we were sharing Brett Ratner’s public apology for saying “rehearsal is for f*gs,” along with Academy President Tom Sherak’s public acceptance of that apology, but apparently that wasn’t enough. Because now Ratner has tendered his full resignation (no doubt covered in Cheeto crumbs and pubes). It’s sad, because I’ve said all along, much more so than directing movies, hosting a big Hollywood ass-kissing festival is the job Brett Ratner was born to do.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirms that Brett Ratner has resigned as producer of this year’s Oscar telecast following his use of a gay slur on Friday evening and his raunchy interview on “The Howard Stern Show” Monday.
In an open letter, Ratner said he resigned to Academy president Tom Sherak this morning by phone and that he “apologizes publicly and unreservedly.”
“I should have known this all along, but at least I know it now: words do matter,” Ratner said. “Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted.”
By late Tuesday he had accepted Ratner’s resignation.
“He did the right thing for the Academy and for himself,” Sherak said in a statement. “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.”
It is unclear whether Murphy will stay on as host. [Variety]
Look, no one’s arguing that Ratner isn’t a dipsh*t, and a public figure thinking he can get away with saying “f*g” onstage at a public event in 2011 is only proof of that. But seriously, let’s stop kidding ourselves. He used a word. He didn’t kill anyone. He slipped into the schoolyard vernacular in which “f*g” has much broader meaning than “hateful slur against a homosexual.” You can’t ban every word that someone uses in hate, they’ll just switch to different words. Stupid, yes, hateful no. An apology should be sufficient (this is a guy who claimed he got his first BJ from a man, after all). And as long as we’re keeping score here, isn’t saying “she wasn’t Asian back then” a lot more bigoted than “rehearsal is for f*gs”? Like to imply that someone’s race is somehow tied to how they act or present themselves, and not just a physical form into which you were born? Kind of like the root of all stereotypes? No matter. Let’s all keep pretending that just strictly sticking to the set of acceptable PC non-hate terms will solve all of the world’s problems, while we watch a guy famous for his “f*ggots can’t look at my ass” bit perform clean family comedy while we eat shrimp.
(*sadly covers nacho cheese fountain with tarp*)
Someday, old friend.
Post-Script: Is it fitting that Brett Ratner and Eddie Murphy have both been in trouble for being too free with the word “f*g”, and have both had famous encounters with transvestites?