Is Roger Ebert Out of Line

For putting on Twitter "Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive" after a JackASS movie star died crashing his Porche at over 130 MPH while drunk at over twice the legal limit?

He has gotten some major grief for being insensitive, my take is that he said something factually true and useful. I dont think that he should have apologized, I am so sick of people saying sorry for speaking truth that other dont want to hear.

i don't get it either, comedian tracy morgan is on a national apology tour after making a joke about homosexuality at one of his shows

Folks who r near death can speak very freely,

Folks who r near death can speak very freely,

you seem to have missed the part where Ebert apologized....

I think our society is just now relearning that the opinions of the society and people who surround you can be a more effective control over behavior than "laws" are.

but toxicology reports will not come back until at least four weeks

while I have not heard such yet you know that Ebert got a message from they who pay him demanding that he do the "right" thing,

hawkeye10 wrote:

while I have not heard such yet you know that Ebert got a message from they who pay him demanding that he do the "right" thing,

Such a message would be redundant since he had already heard directly from the people who make him valuable in the first place, his audience.

They also declared that Pennsylvania was "one of the most evil states to ever exist."

974 Comments
Sam | June 21, 2011 10:31 AM
I think the lesson for this pundit is to be less arrogant about how many Yes-men you can glean on your Facebook and Twitter pages. After all, they might just turn out to be jackasses.

Screw you! | June 21, 2011 10:31 AM
Not cool. Glad your Facebook page is gone!...just like your career.

Daniel Bentley | June 21, 2011 10:32 AM
Roger, you were a bit of a jackass yourself.

People don't need truth bombs when they're grieving.

Joachim Moncoq | June 21, 2011 10:34 AM
Dear Roger,
you are right and you used the right words!
I lost 4 people, because their life have been taken away by drunk drivers! My fathers brother died because of this when I was very young, but I still remember. One friend riding a bike was hit by a car, because of a drunk driver lost his lane and 2 other friends (a couple) were killed because of a drunken truck driver.
There's no excuse for driving drunk! Thank You for making that clear and don't let yourself get touched by all those mindless jerks, who attack you.
It's not too early to say something like that and you, Roger, used the right words at exactly the right time! Maybe somebody sees this at the reason, to change some risky behavior! Maybe lives will be saved because of this.
Thank you again and Greetings from Germany, Joachim

IRAP | June 21, 2011 10:37 AM
It is disgraceful that you would vilified for speaking the truth. Whether he was a drunk driver, an extreme speeder or both together, he was a stupid man for drinking, getting in the car and driving. What if he had killed a family with kids? Drunk drivers go to hell! He could have called a cab or the police or call a friend or family. Why is everyone on Mr. Ebert's case? He was being honest and truthful. It doesn't matter that the guy just died and took another life with him. He was either drunk or speeding or drunk and speeding because he thought he was immortal. I hope you idiots protesting against Mr. Ebert never know what it's like to lose a loved one to a drunk driver or an irresponsible speeder! My full support for Roger Ebert.

Zac | June 21, 2011 10:37 AM
It's sad, really sad.

d pestle | June 21, 2011 10:37 AM
I support you Roger. I think Ryan would have found your tweet appropriate and true in timing, subject and syntax. Keep writing I will always be reading!

akell | June 21, 2011 10:38 AM
As far as I'm concerned, drinking and driving is wrong, I'm sure most people would agree, but it is also wrong to unnecessarily bring up the negatives about a person who has just died. You need to be more sensitive to the fact that Ryan Dunn was someones best friend, son, brother, and so much more... The tweets you posted were insensitive, and no one needed to be reminded of how he may have died, that's not what needs to happen right now, what needs to happen is grieving and mourning, not focusing on the negative. If you lost a loved one, you'd be outraged too, if the first remarks you saw, or heard, were about how their friends were wrong for letting them drink and drive. ESPECIALLY, where you don't even know if alcohol was a factor... everyone's tolerance is different. I still think you were wrong, regardless of your apologies.

Rebekah | June 21, 2011 10:38 AM
You aren't wrong. Perhaps ill-timed but it's a message that needs to be out there. Drunk driving kills people. And some of those killed are completely innocent. Unfortunately, all too often the message doesn't register with those who need it most.

Nobody is indestructible. Not even jackasses.

Renna | June 21, 2011 10:39 AM
You shouldn't have to apologize (or have you fan page removed) for what you said, it was the truth. If people took that the wrong way, it's their own problem. Friends shouldn't let friends drink and drive and people should be aware of that.

Adam Willis | June 21, 2011 10:39 AM
I don't think you did anything wrong. It was was most people were thinking anyway. I don't think people realize how horrible drunk driving really is until it kills them. This whole ridiculous episode will bring drunk driving into the spotlight for a little while, and that is a very good thing.

"I offer my sympathy to Ryan Dunn's family and friends, and to those of Zachary Hartwell, who also died in the crash," Ebert, 69, posted on his blog Tuesday. "I mean that sincerely. It is tragic to lose a loved one. I also regret that my tweet about the event was considered cruel. It was not intended as cruel. It was intended as true."

rosborne979 wrote:

hawkeye10 wrote:

while I have not heard such yet you know that Ebert got a message from they who pay him demanding that he do the "right" thing,

Such a message would be redundant since he had already heard directly from the people who make him valuable in the first place, his audience.

My understanding is the the public comments were about evenly split between support of his comments and non support, there was no consensus from the mob that Ebert was wrong, though I never saw the facebook page before it was pulled by facebook (a bunch that I have no use for these days, with their militant censorship). In any case we do not know that Ebert is interested in the mobs opinion, though we can assume that he is interested in continuing his life's work, which he can be deprived of at any time.