Updated at the bottom: Eddie Murphy's out too. First posted at 4:28 p.m. Tuesday.

Brett Ratner is Hollywood's douche laureate, tolerated for his frat-boy ways because he makes hit moves.

Well, no longer, it seems.

The big-budget producer told a reporter during a Q&A promoting his Tower Heist that “rehearsal is for fags.”

Oops.

Now producing the Academy Awards is not for him. The folks behind the Oscar ceremonies this afternoon stated that …

… Brett Ratner submitted his resignation as a producer of the 84th annual Academy Awards to Academy President Tom Sherak. Ratner then issued an open letter to the entertainment industry in which he explained his decision.

And the award for putting a loafer in one's mouth goes to …

His explanation didn't exactly help things. Ratner never said the word he used was wrong or hateful. Ratner told The Wrap:

I apologize for any offense my remarks caused. It was a dumb way of expressing myself. Everyone who knows me knows that I don't have a prejudiced bone in my body. But as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words.

He should have apologized for getting terrible PR advice.

Anyway Academy president Tom Sherak said this in a statement sent to the Weekly and the rest of the media:

He did the right thing for the Academy and for himself. Words have meaning, and they have consequences. Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable. We all hope this will be an opportunity to raise awareness about the harm that is caused by reckless and insensitive remarks, regardless of the intent.

See Brett. That's how you do it.

[Update]: Eddie Murphy has pulled out as host of the awards, City News Service reports. Murphy starred in Tower Heist and was widely believed to have been drawn to the gig because of Ratner's involvement.

[Added]: Does anyone find it ironic that Eddie Murphy was stopped by cops in 1997 with a transvestite in his car (on Santa Monica Boulevard no less)?

Is he sticking with his bro here, or did the Academy push them both out as part of a package deal?

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com/@LAWeeklyNews]

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