“Tower Heist” director Brett Ratner has been let go by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from his recently acquired position as producer of the Academy Awards telecast.
His termination occurred Tuesday night as a result of some controversial remarks that he had made.
Despite the Academy having publicly referred to his departure as a resignation, the New York Post is reporting that Ratner was fired by the Oscar organization.
The director’s recent comments caused a great deal of consternation in the Hollywood community, especially over Ratner’s use of a gay pejorative at a public event.
At a screening of his film, during a question and answer session, the director told the audience that “rehearsal is for" expletive. He subsequently appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius XM radio show and explicitly talked about his sex life.
Ratner's publicists told the New York Post that they are no longer working with the director because of what they describe as “artistic differences.”
The Academy said in a statement that Ratner “did the right thing for the Academy [by resigning] . . . Words have meaning, and they have consequences. Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable.”
Ratner has issued a statement titled “An Open Letter to the Entertainment Industry.”
“Over the last few days, I’ve gotten a well-deserved earful from many of the people I admire most in this industry expressing their outrage and disappointment over the hurtful and stupid things I said in a number of recent media appearances. To them, and to everyone I’ve hurt and offended, I’d like to apologize publicly and unreservedly,” the statement read.
It remains to be seen whether Ratner's handpicked host for the Oscar telecast, actor Eddie Murphy, would also be leaving the show.
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