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Brett Ratner and homophobic comments weren't a laughing matter for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The group that runs the annual Oscars broadcast, which Ratner was slated to produce in 2012, has fired the Tower Heist director after he commented last Friday during a question-and-answer session that "rehearsal's for fags."
According to the New York Post, it was more than just the Academy that was sick of Ratner. After his antigay comments, he also appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius XM program and launched into a rant about having the women he plans to bed checked for diseases by his doctor, a tirade that sent even his publicists running.
His reps told the Post they had split with Ratner "because of artistic differences."
The Academy is handling things with more decorum that its former employee, releasing a statement that said, "Words have meaning, and they have consequences. Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable."
GLAAD is reportedly planning to turn Ratner into a poster boy by holding public talks with the director about the inclusion of LGBT people and stories in Hollywood.
"When we sat down with Brett today, he seemed very sincere in his desire to use this experience as a way to begin speaking out against antigay language in popular culture," the group said in a statement. "We believe his resignation is just the first step and will be announcing a series of concrete actions with Brett in coming days and weeks."
