FOX Radio Host Mocks Actor Heath Ledger in Death
by Press Release
Friday, January 25, 2008-In the wake of Heath Ledger's death, people around the world are mourning the gifted actor's passing and are expressing their appreciation for how he changed hearts and minds with his Oscar-nominated role as a gay cowboy in 2005's Brokeback Mountain.
In a stark and disturbing contrast, Fox News Radio host John Gibson cruelly mocked Ledger's death and his role in Brokeback Mountain during his Jan. 22 John Gibson Show radio broadcast.
During the show, Gibson played an audio clip from the film of Jake Gyllenhaal's character, Jack, telling Ennis (played by Ledger), "I wish I knew how to quit you." Gibson then coldly quipped, "Well, he found out how to quit you." Then, after playing another audio clip from the movie of Ledger's character saying, "We're dead," Gibson mockingly said, "We're dead" and played the clip again.
“Gibson’s remarks are vulgar and disgusting,” said Rashad Robinson, GLAAD’s Senior Director of Media Programs. “It’s sickening that Gibson would exploit Heath Ledger’s tragic death to promote such hurtful intolerance. And to do so at a time when family and friends are grieving shows a level of insensitivity that is beyond the pale.” The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is an organization dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Beyond his mockery of Ledger's role in Brokeback Mountain, Gibson called the actor a "weirdo" with "a serious drug problem," and callously speculated on the reasons Ledger might have committed suicide.
Gibson had previously mocked Brokeback Mountain--calling it a "gay agenda movie" on his Fox News TV program in 2006.
Gibson’s Past Comments on Brokeback Mountain:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,180499,00.html
Fox New Radio Host Mocks Heath Ledger's Death