The Oscars. I night filled with tension and drama. Unfortunately for this years telecast the drama has already begun, and it has nothing to do with the awards. On Tuesday Bret Ratner stepped down (essentially fired I believe) as the show’s producer after backlash began over his use of a homophobic slur. Ratner’s departure also led to Eddie Murphy’s exit as this years host.
Image courtesy of Dave Keeshan
The program has already figured out a backup plan with Brian Grazer producing and Billy Crystal hosting, but the question remains why hasn’t Hollywood learned yet. It seems every week we have a new celebrity who fails to grasp the power of what they say or tweet. Instances are so plentiful The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a list of the 10 biggest homophobic slurs in Hollywood.
Now I understand that celebrities are humans too and everyone makes mistakes and can be careless with their words. That’s what apologies are for, and Ratner’s leaves much to be desired. Apologies have to be strategic and unfortunately this one missed the mark.
It started out promising enough. Ratner didn’t stay silent for long and issued an official apology to the Motion Picture Academy and to LGBT community stating,
“I should have known this all along, but at least I know it now: words do matter. Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted. With this in mind, and to all those who understandably feel that apologies are not enough, 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.”
Pretty standard, but not bad. He admits his mistake, takes responsibility and promises action over mere words. Then things begin to unravel. We learn that Ratner has also gone on the Howerd Stern show where he made some disgusting comments about certain Hollywood stars and pretty much disgusting comments all around.
The lesson here is that apologies and open communication mean nothing if you don’t mean it. Even if you don’t mean it common sense and a publicist with a strategic plan should make it look sincere.
What do you think? Are people over reacting or did Ratner get what he deserved?
We Interrupt this PRogram 