This is one of the most bizarre stories I’ve ever heard. OK, some background: back in late 2011, Brett Ratner (douchey director of such films as Rush Hour & X3) was set to produce the 2012 Oscars with Eddie Murphy as host. During the lead up to the Oscars, Brett Ratner was giving interviews to promote Tower Heist when he made any number of offensive, misogynistic, bigoted and crude statements. The one statement that got the widest coverage was an aside he made at a Q&A session in which he said, “Rehearsal is for f-gs.” Yes. He said that. So after everyone condemned him for that statement (and not for any of the wildly misogynistic things he said), Brett resigned from the Oscars and made an epic apology to the Academy and to GLAAD. Skip ahead a year and a half, and Mr. Rehearsal-Is-For-F-gs is now getting a GLAAD Award. Ratner: “Rehearsal is for f-gs.” GLAAD: “Totally.”
A year and a half after a gay slur effectively cost him a gig producing the Oscars, Brett Ratner has come full circle. The director has been tapped to receive the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s inaugural Ally Award as part of the watchdog group’s 24th annual Media Awards on March 16 in New York, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
“Out of anybody I’ve ever worked with, Brett has been the most humble and willing to put his money and actions where his mouth is,” GLAAD president Herndon Graddick tells THR. “In terms of an ally and what someone can do after an incident that was negative like that, I’ve never worked with someone who displayed such genuine interest in helping the community. There’s no one who deserves this more than Brett does. GLAAD’s interest is in bringing allies in to join us in our fight for total equality, and he really did that. I now consider him a friend.”
At the event, the director also will premiere the GLAAD “Coming Out for Equality” public service announcement campaign he oversaw. The PSA series features a diverse group of straight celebrities and athletes “coming out of the closet” as supporters of equality and calling for other Americans to speak out. Participants include Charlie Sheen, Jackie Chan, Tamala Jones (Castle), Food Network’s Giada De Laurentiis and NCIS’ Pauley Perrette, among others. The videos are set for release this month.
“I have long been a supporter of equal rights for everyone,” Ratner said. “So, when Herndon and the folks at GLAAD asked me to partner with them on this PSA campaign, I jumped at the opportunity. I have always been an admirer of GLAAD. They do meaningful and effective work in the fight to secure equality for everyone, and I am very humbled that they are honoring me with this Ally Award.”
GLAAD plans to present the Ally Award to others in the future, when appropriate. The prize is similar to the special recognition honors that the group has presented in the past. Last year, GLAAD Harvey Weinstein presented a special award to Katy Butler, a teenager who spearheaded a petition to move the MPAA rating of the documentary Bully from R to PG-13.
For Ratner, the award comes nearly six months after Ratner spoke at the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network’s Respect Awards, where he addressed his controversial remarks and the importance of the group’s “Think Before You Speak” ad campaign, for which he and director Tom Ford also created a PSA.
For what it’s worth, it does sound like Brett Ratner was appropriately and consistently abject in his apologies and it does seem like he’s spent the last year and a half doing a lot of good work with GLAAD. I never would have thought this… but Brett might actually deserve the Ally Award?! What the what? I have to say, I like this new movement from GLAAD and other gay-rights organizations to focus more on persuasion, acceptance and forgiveness for people who have said or done things to hurt the gay community. The messaging is wildly consistent.
I have an opening line for Brett for his acceptance speech. Here’s a free one, Brett: “Gay, straight, bisexual and transgendered people, can we all agree on one thing? We all want to do Rachel Maddow. Amirite?”
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Just spend a few minutes googling Brett Rattner when you get a chance. This guy has not only made an anti-gay comment, but he is incredibly sexist and just plain gross. Wouldn’t give him any award except for Douchebag of the Year.
what would be the other option? to always villify people for one thing they said? to get a climate of fear to say one wrong word?
glaad is doing the right thing to embrace someone who saw he made a mistake.
he says crappy things… about everyone… and, this is where i get caught up, does that make you racist, sexist, homophobic…. aka an a$$h@le (thank you morgan freeman for the tweet) or just someone who’s being facetious or obnoxiously funny or angry and dares you to react (or for Isaiah washington ranting about being treated like a less-than and using every -ism catchall, getting caught and ruining his career… in context not wrong but on print, it killed him)?
i mean, i think about the things i say that are hella funny or to make a point (or wrong, depending on how you see it) but would not allow me to get hired if it hit print.
but everything these people say hit print… maybe there should be room for adjustment?
People should be held accountable for the things they say. Don’t say offensive things, if you don’t want to be called on it.
he’s still a giant tool.
All I agree with is the Rachel Maddow comment. God, when I finish growing up I want to be that smart.
So he bought this award? Is that what GLAAD is saying. Because I doubt he’s devoted any real time, just money. Wonder if the studio/PR made him do this or if he genuinely cares.
You are not going to make me say something nice about him, are you? I admire the act of atoning – properly atoning – when someone have done something insensitive. It looks like he did that here. So, kudos for that one thing, Brett.
Now get the rest of your sh!t together.
So, after the Academy Awards dropped Brett Ratner for all the bigoted and misogynistic things he said in a week, they then turned around and let Seth McFarlane, who spent his whole career making similar comments, host the Academy Awards?
If it was a choice between two misogynistic douche nozzles, I would have rather watched Brett Ratner in charge of the Oscars than watching Seth McFalane host it- there would have been less singing and self-promotion, and Eddie Murphy would have been a huge improvement over McFarlane.