The Gay and
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is urging people to
protest homophobic comments made by a far-right pundit
concerning Heath Ledger and his character in
Brokeback Mountain.
On Tuesday, just
a few hours after the announcement of Ledger's death,
Fox News radio host John Gibson played an audio clip of the
iconic quote "I wish I knew how to quit you" from
Brokeback Mountain and then quipped, "Well,
he found out how to quit you." Laughing, Gibson then played
another clip from Brokeback in which Ledger
said, "We're dead," followed by his own,
mocking "We're dead" before playing the clip
again.
On Wednesday
Gibson responded to criticism from ThinkProgress.org,
defending his remarks and saying that it was just "a
little Brokeback Mountain joke" and there is
"no point in passing up a good joke."
Without offering any apology, Gibson claimed that
"for months and months and months" he has
consistently made fun of the line "I wish I
knew how to quit you," adding, "I'm not
giving that up."
"Gibson's remarks are vulgar and
disgusting," said Rashad Robinson,
GLAAD's senior director of media programs, in a press
release. "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."
According to
GLAAD, Gibson also called Ledger a "weirdo" with a
"serious drug problem." In 2006, following the release of
Brokeback Mountain, he called the film a "gay
agenda movie." (The Advocate)
