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Brett Ratner has resigned as producer of the Oscars, Access Hollywood has confirmed. “This morning, Brett Ratner submitted his resignation as a producer of the 84th annual Academy Awards to Academy President Tom Sherak,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement on Tuesday evening. “Ratner then issued an open letter to the entertainment industry in which he explained his decision.”
The news comes just days after Ratner used a homophobic slur during a Q&A session at the Los Angeles ArcLight Cinema, following a screening of his latest film, “Tower Heist.”
When asked about his rehearsal process, he said, “Rehearsal is for fa*s.”
“It was a dumb way of expressing myself,” Ratner later said in a statement, by way of apology. “Everyone who knows me knows that I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body.”
In addition to his homophobic remark, Ratner also recently slammed Olivia Munn, and suggested he had slept with the starlet, when he appeared on her former program, G4’s “Attack of the Show.” He later apologized for his G4 remarks during a visit to “The Howard Stern Show.”When Ratner resigned from the Oscars on Tuesday morning, he also penned an open letter to the Hollywood community.
In Ratner’s open letter, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the director admitted he has been criticized in the days since he uttered the gay slur.
“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. And they pale in comparison to what any gay, lesbian, or transgender individual must deal with as they confront the many inequalities that continue to plague our world,” he wrote in his letter.
“So many artists and craftspeople in our business are members of the LGBT community, and it pains me deeply that I may have hurt them. I should have known this all along, but at least I know it now: words do matter,” his letter continued. “Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted.”
Ratner added that he plans to put work in on the fight against bigotry, and noted he has already reached out to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
“Please know that I will be taking real action over the coming weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I’ve so foolishly perpetuated,” he wrote.
Academy President Sherak said Ratner’s decision to resign was the right one.
“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.”
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