Los Angeles: Filmmaker Brett Ratner has resigned as the producer of next year’s Oscar Awards following his anti-gay slur during a public interview, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said today.
Ratner submitted his resignation to Academy President Tom Sherak, who supported the move, saying the comments were “unacceptable”.
“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.”
Ratner, known for movies like Rush Hour, Family Man and Tower Heist has issued an open letter, saying he would like to “apologize publicly and unreservedly” for “the hurtful and stupid things I said.”
The 42-year-old director said he wanted to take “real action” to stamp out the damage caused by his remarks.
“As a first step, I called Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th Academy Awards telecast. Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest moment of my career. But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents,” Ratner said.
It is not clear whether Oscar host Eddie Murphy, who was handpicked by Ratner, would also leave the show.
Ratner’s resignation just 15 weeks before the ceremony in February has come as a problem for the Academy as they had brought the director to bring entertainment value to the show. (PTI)