LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Comedian Eddie Murphy bowed out on Wednesday as host of the upcoming Oscars, one day after producer Brett Ratner who had lured Murphy into the role also exited following an uproar over his use of a gay slur.
"I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well," Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which puts on the Oscars, said in a statement.
On Tuesday Ratner resigned from the high-profile job as Oscar producer in the face of an industry firestorm over his answer to a question at a screening of his new comedy, "Tower Heist." Ratner was asked about using rehearsals ahead of a film shoot, and he replied "rehearsing is for fags."
He later apologized, but gay rights groups and some members of the academy took issue with his use of the slur.
Ratner also gave an interview on Monday on shock jock Howard Stern's radio show in which he spoke in graphic detail about his sex life, and his comments added fuel to the fire around him.
"Words have meaning, and they have consequences. Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable," Sherak said in a statement on Tuesday.
(Editing by Chris Michaud)
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