November 10, 2011 | Arts / Entertainment

Bye, bye Brett; producer resigns from Oscars

Brett Ratner has literally talked himself out of producing next year's Academy Awards.

The director, currently promoting his comedy Tower Heist, got into trouble this week when he was asked if he makes his actors rehearse. "Rehearsal is for fags," he said.

Oops.

Ratner apologized the next day, saying, "I apologize for any offense my remarks caused. It was a dumb way of expressing myself. Everyone who knows me knows that I don't have a prejudiced bone in my body. But as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words."

Critics suggested that the slip was too much and that Ratner should be forced out of his producing gig for the Academy Awards. Later that day he resigned.

The president of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Tom Sherak, said in a statement that the 42-year-old filmmaker "did the right thing for the academy and for himself."

"Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable," Sherak said.

Eddie Murphy, who had agreed to host the Awards, also resigned.

"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," Ratner said.