On Monday, in response to Jackass star Ryan Dunn’s death in a car accident, Roger Ebert tweeted, “Friends don’t let Jackasses drink and drive.” Later, the film critic added, “He drank, he drove, 2 people died.” Dunn’s friend Bam Margera responded via Twitter: “I have been crying hysterical for a full day and piece of shit roger ebert has the gall to put in his 2 cents. Shut your fat fucking mouth!” So on Tuesday, Ebert wrote a lengthy blog post explaining himself, somewhat ineffectively: “I regret that my tweet was considered cruel. It was not intended as cruel. It was intended as true. I have no way of knowing if Ryan Dunn was drunk at the time of his death. What I knew before posting my tweet was that not long before his death, he posted a photo on Tumbler [sic] showing himself drinking with two friends. Of course there was a double meaning. I was implying that someone who drinks and drives is a jackass. I was probably too quick to tweet. That was unseemly.” And now we know all of Roger Ebert’s thoughts on this matter. [Ebert’s Journal/Chicago Sun Times]
