Fox News
Commentator Criticized for Crass Ledger Remarks

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)