Shortly after Ryan Dunn's death was announced, Roger Ebert went to Twitter and basically said that Ryan was a jackass for drinking and driving and that two people died as a result of the drinking and driving. Later yesterday Bam Margera came out and told Ebert to shut the f**k up and let people grieve. Do you think Roger Ebert was right to say something, or do you think he should have waited?
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Labels: Bam Margera
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80 comments:
Roger Ebert didn't say anything different than many other people (including myself) were saying yesterday. It's only a big deal for Bam because Ebert is famous.
Was it insensitive to the familes of the deceased? Yes, probably.
Was Ebert wrong? Nope, not all.
I think that as someone who has faced illness and fought to survive he has that right to his opinion.
Life is precious, don't throw it away.
Waited. Family's grief takes precedence. Ebert's message is all too obvious without having to say it at all.
He should have waited. He's right in what he said, but show a little sensitivity to the family/friends.
Those Jackass boys tempt death (or quadriplegia, at the very LEAST) for a living -- and they love doing it, as long as it's in front of a camera. Someone did it in real life, and he didn't emarge unscathed. Supposedly, those guys have reckless personalities. I'm surprised this hasn't happened yet, honestly.
I think that Roger Ebert is exactly right. If there's one thing dumber than being catapulted into the air while strapped into a porta-potty, it's drinking a ton of alcohol and getting behind the wheel.
Way to state the obvious, Ebert.
...buuuut, I think Ebert should have waited at LEAST a few days before saying something.
Ebert might have been right, but he showed that he lacked tact by saying anything like that just HOURS after Ryan died. Ebert is the one who looks like a jackass now, sorry.
He should have waited. The family & friends of the deceased are well aware of why they died. Ebert's statement was really very insensitive.
But is this a big deal because Ebert is a celebrity? I'm quite sure there were plenty of everyday joes that were tweeting very similar sentiments. Easy to lash out at Ebert because of his name...
Maybe he thinks you don't have to be tactful when someone is wreckless enough to drink and drive.
He probably shouldn't have tweeted it though.
I'm just trying to put myself in Bam's shoes...yeah, Ebert should have waited. I really don't want to hear a "that's what you get!" about a good friend who JUST died, regardless of his or her own hand in it.
That being said....Ebert was right.
He could have waited for the sake of the families and friends - no matter how stupid your dead friend was, it still hurts to lose someone you love. Ebert is completely right though.
Roger's point qwas right on. I think people are completely missing the point of Roger's tweet. Was he really attacking Ryan or the idiots that were drinking with him all night? And still let him get behind the wheel of a car. Because y' know - those guys were in "Jackass" and they never get hurt, don'cha know.
Somebody had to have seen Ryan get in that car, start it and take off. Those are the people I think Roger was referring to.
Hell yeah, it's true what he said. But he was a dick about it, with no concern for the loved ones of Ryan and the passenger.
Now, if it had been, "Let Ryan Dynn's death be a lesson to us all -- don't drink and drive. Life is precious," that would have gotten his point across while being diplomatic.
Roger Ebert just wants to look cool to his Twitter followers. Which is one reason why I stopped following him.
And if any of us had been watching the news or reading the paper and it was reported that some random unknown guy died from speeding in a Porsche after having six drinks, we pretty much would have said the same exact thing Ebert said. So the rule here is that time sensitivity of such comments is directly correlated to the fame/celebrity of the victim.
But MacVixen said it better in the first post anyway, so +1.
Roger's tweet was "Friend's don't let jackasses drink and drive." Sounds like it was a criticism of Ryan's "Friends."
I'm actually okay with what Ebert said and when he said it. There are a lot of people who wanted to emulate Ryan Dunn and his stunts. While I know that his family and friends are grieving, the impact of what he did (if in fact he did drink and drive - and I'm going go out on a limb and say yes he was drunk given the pictures that he posted himself just a couple hours earlier) necessitates a bold message as soon as possible. In fact I hope more people speak out. Does it lessen the fact that Ryan Dunn was probably a very nice guy? No nice people make stupid mistakes all of the time and it should be a lesson for those left behind.
Team Ebert. I'm sorry for the families, but this guy was making his living at being a jackass. He's responsible for the families' grief, not Ebert.
This wouldn't have even been as big an issue had TMZ not spread it all over it's site yesterday.
Roger's tweet I mean. Not the accident itself.
Waited. While drinking and driving is obviously very stupid and deadly, it had not even been 24 hours since the accident and nobody has the right to speculate over whether he was drunk or not until the toxicology results come in. There are people grieving the loss of two young men and the last thing they need is Roger Ebert calling them a jackass when he knew nothing of the situation. You know what the say, when you assume it makes an ass of you and me.
It doesn't matter who it was- famous or not. Loved ones and friends of the deceased are IN THE EARLY STAGES OF GRIEVING. It was in poor taste (and stating the fucking obvious) for Ebert to say that so soon.
Another for Team Ebert.
He was saying what millions of us were thinking. I see no problem with the timing and hope he doesn't eat his words.
Describing the deceased as a jackass might have been a witty turn of phrase in other circumstances but inappropriate given the deaths. So I am with Ebert in substance but against him on wording. My objection is to Bam. If he really loved Ryan wouldn't he want to educate their fans on the risks of drinking and driving?
Personally I totally agree with what Ebert said, but will say the timing was completely inconsiderate and made me cringe when I read it.
I strongly dislike drunk drivers. I'd have said the same thing. If he had died due to an accident out of his control, then I'd say respect the dead. But he was drank, got in a wreck that killed him and an innocent passenger and there's no respect for that.
it's one thing to say it; it is another thing to post if for the world to see. he should have waited
Out of respect for friends and family he could have waited.
Yes, what he tweeted was right on, but jeez, was the body even at the morgue? I know the passenger hadn't been identified at that time.
I agree with the poster who said we don't even have the toxicology report yet! Who are we to say he was driving drunk because he was at a bar? Haven't any of you ever been to a bar and not drank? I haven't (except when I was pregnant), but I know it's possible!! I just went to TMZ (yuck) to look at the pictures. He doesn't have a drink in his hand in any of them (he looks like he's having a great time, but that can also be achieved without alcohol, right?). Maybe he was drunk, maybe he wasn't.
The tweet was insensitive and untimely.
However, if the toxicology report comes back and shows that he was inebriated, MTV and the Jackass guys better use this as an opportunity to reiterate to young people that drinking and driving is NEVER okay. EVER.
Thank you Roger Ebert! That whole bunch are awful role models and this is just another instance of their idiotic and reckless behavior. I hope a lot more people say what RE did because he spoke the truth; something very few are willing to do nowadays. And no I don't care who is grieving; they wouldn't BE grieving if not for yet more drunk driving which too many people don't take seriously enough. F--- drunk drivers. To me they are all selfish, despicable human beings.
Did anybody else read that the site of the wreck was about 2 miles from where Ryan got a DUI years before? I hear people being upset about this but I hear less people talk about Ryan murdering his friend. We hammered that Hogan kid pretty hard and his friend lived, albeit not well.
Ida Blankenship said...
"...buuuut, I think Ebert should have waited at LEAST a few days before saying something"
He timed it exactly right, no grieving family would read some movie critic's tweets within the first 24 hours.
I think it was the tone he used. If he had something such as "Why did he drink and drive. He knows better?" then ok.
Team Ebert.
I think if that was me, the last thing I would be caring about is what some fellow (famous or not) said about my dear friend.
On a slight side note, going with he was to drunk to drive - this should be called out. One thing about this wonderful country is the lack of accountabilty anymore. There's no shame to be given to the super fuck ups (looking at you Lohan).
If you drive drunk and kill someone, use precious emergency response peoples time - you should get called out.
* end rant
Good point, _-_=_.
nataliesingerart & =, excellent points.
Team Ebert. I don't drink alcohol, so I'm not an authority, but three beers and three shots of hard liquor seems to be enough reason not to get behind the wheel of a car. The person I feel sorry for is Ryan Dunn's passenger.
A man, mostly know for having stuck a Hot Wheels' car up his bum... just happened to die that way. Oh, he happened to tweet photos of his drinking before hand.
Roger tweeted the truth. Ryan, didn't respect himself much to have died and killed this way. If I was grieving, I certainly wouldn't be too concerned about tweets. I'd be thinking about how to not follow Ryan's footsteps. Ryan's driving record tells me, his friends knew it was only a matter of time. This wasn't his first accident with alcohol involved. Sadly, it was his last along with the friend.
I adore Ebert, but when I read his Tweet yesterday I was sad - it was so inappropriate and not like him.
The wage of stupidity, like sin, is death. And Ryan Dunn and his friend just collected their checks. I hope God has mercy on their souls, but Ebert didn't say anything horrible.
Maybe if it was only Ryan Dunn who died, Ebert's post would be considered time sensitive. but ryan dunn killed someone else by drunk driving. so, yeah, team ebert.
He didn't say anything that a lot of other people weren't thinking, true, so why say it? Ebert is an arrogant egomaniac, always has been, and thinks he's untouchable because of his difficult health condition. Hey, Rog, a lot of other people are thinking something about you. Wanna hear it? Oh okay, maybe not.
Siskel was sooo much better.
HELL NO. He was absolutely right to say something. For some reason, there are kids that watch those stupid movies and probably look up to those folks. By drinking and driving he took 2 lives. Thank God he didn't take more.
Freedom of speech....
Sometimes the truth hurts.
I think it was extremely insensitive. And to the person who objects that Bam didn't take the opportunity to educate his fans....I'm sure he would have but he's probably not even past the DENIAL phase of grief yet.
I lost someone dear to me to a drunk driver, so I think it's always the right time to call out a drunk, even if they died at their own hand.
Team Bam. The post was ill-conceived and inconsiderate. There are friends and family and FANS that are grieving that would read the statement and take it negatively. If the reports come back that Ryan had been drunk, then the crew could come out once the grieving time IS OVER. Let them have time to process it first!
@KLM -- there are pictures of him drinking that evening, and several people who know how much he had who have come forward.
Team Ebert, too -- and I agree that the tweet was actually addressed to those who let him get behind the wheel (all those "friends" of his), when they knew he'd had too much. One went so far as to say that yes, he had been drinking, but he was OK to drive. Really? Those two go together? 3 beers, 3 shots? And then drive?
I think what has been lost in this, too, is that his passenger was killed, too. So the "friends" really are double jackasses.
His drinking and driving and killing himself and someone else was pretty ill conceived as well..he didn't seem to think about his actions..at least people speaking up now about drunk driving, when they'll be heard, may help save some lives; not take them.
Had this been YOUR friend in the same situation, would you be so easy on Ebert?
The fact is two men died, at the time they didn't even know which one was driving(not sure if they even know yet) and it's a tragedy. Even if it's their own fault, it's still a tragedy and should be treated with at least the respect due any person's family at the time of a death.
That car accident wasn't a tragedy. As my hs english teacher would have said, it was pathos. As in, pathetic. No hero, no heroic struggle against a foe, just stupidity, and that's what Ebert said.
Death does not equate to tragedy. I'm sure the families are grieving, but even they could not be so stupid as to think this was unfair or "tragic" in the true sense of the word.
If Ebert coming out and saying this stops anyone from making pathetic wastes of their own lives, then I'm glad he said it... and the more painful the timing, the more effective!
Judging from most reports I've read, the dude had three beers and three shots over four hours. If that is true, I won't be the least bit surprised if his tox results come back as UNDER the limit for a guy his size. Then I guess Ebert will have to change his twitter to something about speeding.
Too soon. Every single one of us on this board has made a bad decision and has lived to talk about it. Maybe we even laugh about it, "omg, that time i was so drunk and [insert stupid thing you did]." Ryan Dunn made a bad decision, and did not survive it. No one is in a position to judge him unless if you have never made a careless or stupid decision.
He had no intent to hurt anyone. His family deserves time to deal with the grief of losing a loved one, which is compounded by the fact that he is responsible for his own death and for the death of his friend. I can personally sympathize with what they're going through, and it's hell on earth. Roger Ebert and others who would do nothing but point the finger without the least bit of sympathy for a family who will now suffer a lifetime of regret over one stupid decision are low.
Everyone knows DUI is wrong; it takes no courage to say it aloud or on Twitter. Perhaps it's honest, but it's self-righteous finger-pointing that has no place in the immediate face of such tragedy.
That's my two cents
@heatherhug..he had "no intent to hurt anyone" ??!!! Really? That's the excuse for drunk drivers who kill others now? They didn't have the intent to hurt anybody? Well that's convenient. You think it's self righteous of people who are angry about more pointless deaths due to another drunk driver? Well then..I'm about as self righteous and "low" as they come because there is no excuse good enough for me when it comes to people being selfish and uncaring enough to get behind the wheel of a car after they've been drinking. Call ME and whomever else you want whatever you want but I'm not drinking, driving and then killing people and will never make excuses for those who choose to.
There's no excuses for him, and that's the sad thing. His family needs time to grieve and accept what their son did.
A former alcoholic (Ebert) who undoubtedly drove drunk consistently has no right to sit there and point fingers at Ryan Dunn. He survived his drunk driving; Dunn didn't. That's the ONLY difference between Ebert and Dunn.
My point about intent is that Ryan Dunn is not a bad person. He would never buy a gun and shoot someone...yet he behaved in such a way that he might as well have. And that's why the law doesn't classify this sort of thing as first degree murder; it's manslaughter because it can happen to someone who behaves stupidly, not with evil intent. That's got to be killing his family right now.
What JasonBlueEyes said. There was no criticism of Ryan implied, the guy called himself a jackass, all of them do, and he simply said friends should not let jackasses drive drunk.
Roger Ebert is one of the coolest guys alive. If you don't follow him on Twitter, you should, he has links to some of the most amazing stuff on the internet, and always seems right on with his comments on it. Yes, he maybe could have waited a few days. But he's honest and as a former drinker who reformed, is well aware of the hazards of drunk driving. This is a man who fought cancer and won, but is spending the rest of his life looking like a caricature because of it, and facing it bravely. I love Ebert and I'm on his side on this.
I loved what the SuperFish posted about this: http://www.thesuperficial.com/bam-margera-roger-ebert-ryan-dunn-twitter-06-2011#more-843001
I thought it was dead on.
The bottom line is the guy was drunk. And least we forget in the way of being respectful, that his dumbass judgement call also killed his friend. Honestly having sat through this show, is there any one out there who is surprised that this guy died being a jackass??
@ adventure kate..you took the words out of my mouth! Err..keyboard
@heatherhug....point taken. In the end the act of drunk driving just hurts way too many innocent people
If Bam is so grieved by loss of Ryan he should do a PSA re drinking & driving. Ebert said the right thing....we were all thinking it. Just too bad he had to kill the passenger too.
They call the show JACKASS for a reason!
Forgot to say I hope the passenger's Family sues Ryan's estate for wrongful death.
Okay, let's take the drinking out of it. Let's just harp on the fact that he was driving a Porsche at excessive speeds on that type of road at 3 am, with a passenger. His family and friends have reportedly said they had spoken to him about driving too fast before, especially since the DUI. So even if he wasn't legally drunk, he decided to drive recklessly for some reason and now two people are dead because that car flew off the road and past 40 yards of trees until it made full impact on one and burst into flames. This didn't have to happen.
I'm with Jason Blue Eyes, FS, and Ebert. Social pressure is the only thing that makes a dent in senseless DUI deaths. If anything, there needs to be MORE calling a spade a spade.
@Adventurous Kate - First off, HI! Secondly, I completely agree with you. I did follow him on Twitter but on more than one occasion did I think, "GOD, this guy is an DICK." So I stopped.
And you are EXACTLY right that he could have gotten away with saying this more diplomatically. Now his point about drinking/driving will be lost b/c he sounded like a callous a-hole!
What did Ebert say that was wrong? Jackasses shouldn't let their friends drive drunk .. but they did and now he and someone else is dead.
It strikes me that the entirety of Mr. Dunn's public life was spent exhibiting stupid - potentially life threatening - choices. He did it once too often.
This needs to be a lesson .. but sadly I doubt anything will be learned from it .. because Ebert is being made an asshole for speaking the truth.
He said nothing wrong. The guy DROVE DRUNK. Only two people died and one of them was him. He was popular. He was fun to be around. He was "cool". He was irresponsible. He was an addict. He KILLED and was KILLED by his actions. Is that cool? Is that fun? Is that what the popular people do?
Is it better to sound considerate or nice? A truth is a truth and it hurts. This man killed two people with his stupid addiction. Because he's "likable" he gets a pass?
Stop it and be REAL. Seriously. Stop making excuses. If he was a rapper, you'd crucify him. If he was an unpopular Republican, you'd slay him post-posthumously. I find it hypocritical and disgusting.
I haven't watched Jackass since college & I didn't even know who this guy was. Drinking and driving IS stupid. He should be called out but Roger Ebert didn't need to be the one to do it, IMO.
Seriously, it's not like the biggest Jackass fans are freaking following Ebert on Twitter anyway!
I don't know Jackass people so I have no idea who this dead drunk driver was. He killed someone and himself. Ebert (who I didn't realize was still alive) reported on a 'movie star's (I do know that JA was a movie)death. Be real that is his job. Ebert is a freaking movie critic- why wouldn't he comment? As the kids say- seriously- wtf??
@nataliesingerart: agreed. I think a much more fitting way to get the message across isn't through a cruel tweet, but for example, through the video of Bam Margera that just came out of him weeping at the crash site. No doubt if alcohol was a factor, his friends should think about a PSA in the deads' honor.
Bam is a jerk---I've met him in real life. I found it more insenstive on his part that he and his parents made it all about Bam---his parents say they are worried about him (because he's a drunk and drug user, not to mention wreckless) and Bam was all 'i've been crying my eyes out'. Boofuckinghoo---show some compassion for Ryan's wife and family before yourself.
Roger was right on---he's a movie critic, cancer survivor and looking out for kids who immulate the Jackasses---do you know how many went out and used this as one of their reasons to get fucked up and drive????
We don't know that Ryan was drinking. I think Ebert was out of line until something is known for certain.
I for one am so happy to see how many people here agree with what Ebert said and even happier that so many people are disgusted by and have very little to no sympathy for drunk drivers. I'm glad this happened because people are coming out and condemning it loudly and clearly.
whoa, whoa, whoaaaaaa, nataliesingerart...you had me right up until, 'I'm glad this happened...'. this distrubs me. are you saying you're happy that two tragic deaths occurred? god, i hope not...b/c i could agree w/ the points you made up until then, but i, for one, do NOT take any sort of pleasure in the tragic death of anyone. while i have zero tolerance for anyone driving under any sort of influence, and while yes, it should be condemned, it is, by no means, something to be happy about. i genuinely hope i misunderstood your post.
@Pookie..NO! By "this" I mean this debate over Roger Ebert..It doesn't matter who dies, I would never be "glad" over someone's death.
Well, wait a minute, after thinking about it perhaps there are one or two instances when I could be "glad" but this is certainly not one of them.
^whew!
*good to hear*
'twas worried for a second there.
^:)
Well I stand totally corrected. The coroner's report said his blood alcohol was almost .2 (legal limit is .08). Isn't that like crazy intoxicated??? Wow. And they now think he was driving around 135 MPH on a rural road. So, so stupid and inexcusable. I still don't like Ebert's tweet, but those Jackass guys and MTV better use this as a MAJOR public service announcement opportunity. Yikes.
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