I'm sorry, but I have to take Heath's word for it about the lynchings in West Virginia. I get all of my history lessons from celebrities. Maybe Barbra Streisand could weigh in on this?

I wish him no harm, but it's comments like these that show Hollywood is just as arrogant and ugly as any conservative.
so some don't like the movie because it's gay, big deal. But don't think you're hot s--- because you took off your pants in front of another man. Several, ahem, actors have done it before you.

The controversy around this moving is retarded. There have been gayer films. See here:

http://uncommonamerican.blogspot.com/2005/12/brokeback-mountain-there-have-been.html

He is right about the lynching and this site is wrong yet again.

Hollywood is not so much arrogant and ugly as it is misinformed: The last lynching in West Virginia that I ould find occurred in 1938, so he's a little off the mark, but there was a lynching of a black man as recently as 1981 in Mobile Alabama. Let's not forget how recent our own ugly history is.

Well said!

I'd imagine he's not off by much with the lynching comment. Most of the south only got around to putting anti-lynching laws on the books in the 70s and 80s.

Oh, and movies gayer than this? Top Gun.

Hollywood might be as arrogant and ugly as the conservative theatres in Utah, but their actions are not equal. Heath Ledger's comment is an act of free speech. Anyone is free to argue with him and to mock his comments. Obviously, plenty are already doing so.

The theatres, by contrast, are attempting to stifle freedom of speech. It's not just that they don't like the movie. They don't even want to give anyone else the opportunity to form an opinion for themselves.

Whether there has been a lynching in West Virginia in the last 25 years or not, anyone who has been to the state knows it is full of brain-dead hicks in the second generation of standing upright. If West Virginia and Utah movie theaters refuse to show "Brokeback Mountain" it isn't because they're courageously standing up to evil librulcommiepinkos in Hollywood, it's because they don't like movies that present homosexuals as human beings.

Lynching is not a thing of the past...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/10/teens.lynching/index.html

Wow! Imagine mixing Top Gun and Brokeback Mountain...a gay fighter pilot movie! They could call it "Slipstream", with Heath and Tom Cruise gaying it up Air Force style! It'd totally make like a hundred dollars.

And I'm sure it's been awhile since they've had a good ol' lynchin' in West Virginia (I, myself, live in Normal Virginia), but the attitudes are still there. I wouldn't wanna be a gay dude walking around certain areas in WV. Heck, I really wouldn't want to be a gay cowboy there either. Or a black, gay, jewish cowboy. Or a midget. but then I just wouldn't like to be a midget at all. (Stupid midgets.....coming to our country, takin' our jobs and wimmin.)

Anyway, in Utah, it does suck that that dickhead Larry Miller (owner of the Utah Jazz) decided to not show BBM at his theater (particularly after it was already scheduled there). But I bet he was bowing to the pressure from the virtual Theocracy that runs Utah (gotta love them mormons). I think it's just one theater though. Although I guess, being Utah and all, that's like 50% of the state's theaters.

Freedom of speech can only be stifled by the government. The theater is privately owned. The selection of movies being shown is at the discretion of the theater owner.

his movie Penis Party Brokeback Mountain.

That made my day..school sucks but you rock.

"Hollywood might be as arrogant and ugly as the conservative theatres in Utah, but their actions are not equal."

Baloney. The theater owner's decisions is just as much an act of free speech as whatever Ledger is saying.

Oh yeah...JOlie is preggers...Jolie and Brads Rep's comfirmed it...too bad..I hope the baby won't be so beautiful it looks ugly.. That happens

Touche, RonVellekamp. It's 8 in the morning and I didn't sleep a wink last night. What I meant to say was, the theatres are trying to stifle public discourse, which the Founding Fathers recognised was essential and healthy for our society when they wrote freedom of speech into the Constitution.

I am all for people living there lives the way that they want...but come on people of Utah and West Virginia...you have to realize that gay people are human too...and hey, some guys just like to to take it in the ass...deal with it.

I personally think Heath should be lynched for naming his kid Matilda.

It's good to see the REAL Heath Ledger rearing his ugly head. Everyone knows this rash of good behaviour ( before this comment) is attributed to his not wanting to make waves before the Oscars. He's notorious for lowering himself to the level of the media( like the deliciously hot Russell Crowe and the supremely talented Sean Penn). Just because a few theatres are chosing not to show his movie is no reason to lash out at a big group a people.

I don't suppose anyone is making comments to him about how Australians sprouted from a long line of thieves, rapists, and thugs. But hey, IT'S FREE SPEECH so I'll say it here. Free speech covers a whole lot of stupid opinions.

As a resident of rural West Virginia I can promise you that there were no lynchings in West Virginia in the 70's or 80's.

And I hate to say it, but not all of W.V. looks like Upshure Co. where the mining accident occured. Yes, there are a lot (and I mean A LOT) of gay-bashing, racist, wife-beating rednecks with RIP Dale Earnhart bumper stickers. However, they do not make up the entire population of W.V. We have the internet, read books, and follow politics too. There are plenty of West Virginians (myself included)who choose not to live the redneck lifestyle. We are intelligent, pro choice, gay friendly, and mostly Democrats.

I'm just getting tired of all the bad press W.V. gets. Its not the best state, and I plan to move as soon as I finish college, but its home. There are intelligent people here.

And if West Virginia bans Brokeback Mountain I will have no problem driving 20 minutes to Ohio to see it.

sportsgirl132: I think the point of Heaths comment was to say they are hypocrites. He doesn't give a shit if Australians sprouted from a long line of thieves, rapists, and thugs. Now if Australians refused to show a movie about a gang of thugs raping him and then stealing his wallet...you have a case on your hands. Other that that...you just sound dumb...BUT MORE POWER TO YOU!

I particularly enjoy it when a guy spits venom about American society being backwards, when in a popular election, his own country elected a known, outspoken racist to the House of Representatives: Pauline Hanson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Hanson)

Hmmm... let's see... Aborigines and Asians equal bad, gays equal good... I find that quite hilarious and very immature of a society.

Heath Ledger? Is that like a candy bar for gay accountants? Melts in your mouth, not in your ass?

I am not big on Lynching statistics nor do I care. Now if this was online and computer related forcing "ill mannered" content onto people then I would be able to comment appropriately and take proper actions. One Hail Mary for technology. :D

I don't care for gay cowboys either but here is a joke:

Why aren't cowboys circumsized?
They need somewhere to store their Skoal Snuff.

Good for Heath Ledger. The way I see it, religious conservatives started this "cultural war" on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and they deserve every put-down they get.

They are very selective in their "religious convictions," and have a lot bigger problem with love than they do with war. Kind of strange for people who profess to follow Jesus Christ.

Is there any way we could comment on this film without making homophobic and/or pejorative comments? i.e. "Mount Man-Butt". It cheapens the humour of the site, which i think is usually pretty funny.

"Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8772014&dopt=Citation

-ownd-

I also have to say that this site is about the last place I expected to see someone getting worked up about "religious convictions." Are there some thumbnails of those in the picture forums?

I like when celebrities make nasty, snarky comments. I hate it when they punished in the media for it.

1931: On December 10, two African Americans accused of killing two white constables were forcibly removed from the Greenbrier County jail and lynched by a mob of white men. Following several convictions for the lynching, the West Virginia Supreme Court upheld a 1921 anti-lynching law drafted by Harry J. Capehart and T. G. Nutter. Source: Posey, The Negro Citizen of West Virginia, 78-80.

Lets not forget here, that Mr. Ledger was commenting on attempts to ban the movie in West Virginia. Attempts which were probably eminating from the state house. So, his comment is completely valid. Even if it was a citizen led action, it is still one group of people trying to control what everyone can watch and do.

As for the Utah thing, of course the theater can refuse to show the movie. But, they're not fulfilling their contract to the movie's owner, so they can be sued. Fine. Also, I have every right to call them backwards. Homosexuality is not offensive in the least. A church that doesn't allow beer drinking, that's offensive.

Penis Party...Pure genius...thanks for the laugh.

I wonder if the Mormon's are going to ban the sequel: Smokecrack Mountain -- the story of Robert Downey Jr. and James Frey's gay escapades in the Hollywood Hills...all true, by the way.

Jeema, calling any aversion to homosexuality a fear of homosexuality that stems from suppressed homosexual desires is about as logical as saying an aversion to religious fundamentalists is a fear of them that stems from suppressing lustful desires for religious fundamentalists. So I'm afraid I'm going to have to assume you watch mormon porn in your spare time.

As for Heath, nice try but we know you really just care about the money you've lost, so you think insults will win the hearts and minds of the pocketbooks you love so dearly. Too bad mormons are slightly more principled than that.

In July, 2000, a black, gay man named JR Warren was beaten to death in West Virginia by three men. Good for Heath Ledger for taking a stand against that kind of bigotry.

I liked this site better when it made funny, snarky comments about stars' love lives and ugly clothes. Mean, ignorant bigotry, not so much.

Personally, I think that all Heath Ledger was trying to say was that when theaters refuse to show movies because of their queer content, it's the equivalent of putting their fingers in their ears and saying "LA LA LA LA LA!" It doesn't solve anything. Being queer has been around as long as being alive, and I thought the movie did an excellent job of showing the difficulties that some people faced and still face just because of their orientation.

I come to this site because it's usually funny, but homophobia is never funny. I didn't think this site was written by a 14 year old boy, but I guess I was wrong. Grow up.

As a resident of WV I have not heard of any ban on Brokeback Mountain. I actually saw a poster advertising it at the theatre this week. As I understand it the plan was for limited distribution so that is not the states choice. But now that he mentioned it we have been itching for a good ole fashioned lynching. Seriously people Deliverance was just a movie get over it. Heath needs to stick to screwing ducks and cowboys and leave the state statistics alone. Just entertain us that is what we are paying you for. By the way I love the way he insults and judges a whole state for being intolerant of other lifestyles when he is just as intolerant of us.

princess373 wrote..."Just entertain us that is what we are paying you for. By the way I love the way he insults and judges a whole state for being intolerant of other lifestyles when he is just as intolerant of us."
_____________________

Well there's a double standard for ya...

A) "Just entertain us that is what we are paying you for."...So what your saying is that b/c he is an actor he can't express his opinion on matters. He can't be smart...just a dumb actor. In My Opinion...If more actors were educated and interested in learning we wouldn't have as many as many dumb as celebrities like Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan.

B) "By the way I love the way he insults and judges a whole state for being intolerant of other lifestyles when he is just as intolerant of us."...You just said he should stick to screwing ducks and cowboys and leave the state statistics alone. You can't have both ways...either he needs to be educated or he needs to stick to being a moron. It is like telling someone to stick to being a dumbass and then yelling at them for being a dumbass.

And making harsh and rude remarks about your critics is going to win them over....
how?
He is such an idiot.

Being Gay is NOT being Black

I have had it with people using the “We are being discriminated against just as the poor negroes were discriminated against”, to try to make people stop their moral attacks on homosexuality. This is something that we as blacks have allowed for too long. So for the record let me make it totally clear for those of you who think I might be somewhat “Phobic” about certain lifestyles, that I have plenty of friends who are in the lifestyle (do a lot of industry stuff). I have no problem with speaking, touching (hand shakes and hugs), hanging (live close to WeHo [West Hollywood]), or supporting (this is America and what you do with your life that is between you and God) anyone who lives that lifestyle…Now, let me give you an example why anyone who tries to use the black to gay comparison to gain sensitivity, is an insensitive Bastard or Cu%t (yeah, that with an “N”). If someone is pointing a gun at the head of a Homosexual and a Negro and ask the Homosexual are you Gay, the Homosexual can simply say “No” to save their lives. Homosexuality has no physical characteristics and is only physically apparent when engaged is physical/sexual activity. If the same question is asked to a Negro, there is no way one can lie. I think people need to watch Roots and Birth of A Nation (which I would deem as Slavery 101) to get a slight idea of what it is to be black in this great nation of ours. I intend to check Keith Ledger bitch ass about this…Stay Tuned.

Is there any way we could comment on this film without making homophobic and/or pejorative comments? i.e. "Mount Man-Butt". It cheapens the humour of the site, which i think is usually pretty funny.

So every other lifestyle can be joked about, but not a homosexual lifestyle? There is no evidence to suggest that the author of this site doesn't like gay people, he is treating them like he would treat every other person he writes about. The fact that you think gays should be treated with kid gloves says more about you than it does about him.

As for the actor, he has the right to say whatever the hell he wants, but when he says it in public he is exposing himself to criticism. And his comments revealed that he isn't willing to do research before he opens his mouth and he is guilty of the same generalizations and intollerance as those he criticisizes for hypocrisy.

Yeah, so, uh, that was a really good movie, I went and saw it with my homo roommate and we cried buckets. It's too bad that some people in Utah that wanted to see it won't be able to until it comes out on DVD. I'm not a huge heath fan, but his acting was excellent in this film, and if I were him I'd be pissed if someone didn't want to show my movie too, for whatever reason. Everyone I know who saw it thought it was pretty good, including some straight dudes. The point of it isn't really about how gay it is, it's about being in love with someone you can't be with. There have been a LOT of movies made about that, esp. foreign films. But, yeah, what a gay faggy fag movie, fuck that! If I were a straight dude I TOTALLY wouldn't have seen it, 'cause then people might think I was gay, and that'd be SICK! And dudes messing around is SO GROSS! But I'm totally down to watch some LESBIAN PORN!!!

WV may have people in this state that are backward and intolerant. However, I find it true of every state. I am not trying to defend such people but for those who chose to say things about people they know nothing about, you are just as intolerant of those you mock. Also, for the record, Deliverance was filmed in Georgia and had nothing to do with WV.

All this drivel has just increased interest in the movie. Well done, Heath, you've mastered the art of controversy = publicity.

Let's be honest - if YOU were stuck with Michelle Williams, wouldn't you be wanting to bang Jake Gyllenhaal too?

I much prefer the West Virginia epic

WRONG TURN...

That's more up WV's alley anyway.

Wrong Turn....yet another really bad movie that was filmed in CANADA!!!

I agree with wvgirl. Only difference is WV has an abundance of backward intolerant people.

But honestly, we aren't all like that.

I live in (normal) West Virginia. Yes, that's West Virginia, the state, and not western Virginia. So many people aren't even aware that WV is actually a state. They just seem to think we're the left side of Virginia.

Several months ago I myself wasted 3+ hours of my life in a WV theater watching Alexander, a movie Heath was at one time to star in if I remember correctly. There are 3 hours of my life I could've spent doing something useful... like burning crosses or something (he said sarcastically).

Oh wait, how can it be that I watched a movie with homosexual themes and sex scenes in WV? Oh Jeebus! What happens when the Klan finds out about that? I'll bet they'll really be pissed when they find out, this one time, I watched Will & Grace on that thar magic picture box called The Tee Vee. I'm not even going to mention that Queer Eye show... or that movie The Bird Cage.

People, please.

I am aware of no ban in this state of the movie and I have heard of no attempts to ban the movie either. I have actually only heard of the one incident in Utah. And that was in one theater chain.

Is that the only theater they have in Utah? Jeebus, there are over 20 screens (2 different chains plus one independent theater) in the city I live in here in WV. Surely Utah has more than one theater?

And based on what I see on the official Brokeback Mountain Website, it doesn't look like the movie currently has a very wide theatrical release. So I'm not surprised it hasn't made it to WV yet.

Of course none of the local theater chains are showing Heath's other film Casanova either. That must because of all of the lynchings of Italian adventurers we did in the closing days of the 20th.

Honestly, there's probably not much of a market or demand for Brokeback Mountain in this state. Hopefully, it will make it to theaters here. Probably it won't. But this is all about marketing. I'm sure the distributors were hoping for something like that Utah "banning." It gets everybody talking.

Take a film about a hot button topic (gay love/romance) with critical praise, awards and a limited and controlled theatrical release to drive up demand and then have a theater chain ban the film. That’s money in the bank.

That's why the DVD is streeting in March. Obviously they're trying to get the DVD out as fast as possible while the buzz is still loud and there’s still a hint of controversy in the air. Many people don’t want to see something unless you tell them that can’t see it. Heath shooting his mouth off is just more fuel for the fire.

DVD sales and rentals will most likely be quite high in states where the film didn't see many, or any, screenings.

Now you must excuse me. I have to go and cornhole my sister while watching NASCAR's Greatest Crashes on the V See Are. I'm being sarcastic again... or am I?

I'm with Heath 100% on his perspective.

My sister is a non-Mormon lawyer who's lived in UT for more than a decade, and the Mormons rule that state. Deviation from THEIR moral judgment is not allowed. It's repulsive and oppressive.

UT isn't the only state, though. I grew up in Alabama. (god help me, I escaped) There, the Baptists and Assembly/Church of Gods run the show.

When we lived in Minnesota, it was the Lutherans.

In almost every state in this country, there's a minority of zealots that fuck up the place for everyone else.

A small handful of religious nuts controlling what non-religious people in their state are allowed to see in a movie theatre is NOT freedom of speech but suppression of it. Why not let them just decide what you can hear on the radio, read in the paper, or watch on TV, too?

Mentioning the Religious faction. A bumper sticker I saw on the way to work today, really, today:

" Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks your an asshole"

Maybe I'm messed up (the door opens), but I tend to respect others no matter their beliefs. Here is the religious person telling me he/she thinks everyone are assholes because others don't agree with them. Oh, how they spread the love. Plus, I'm pretty sure any bible, koran or kama sutra, for that matter, frowns upon this view.

Now that is a fine example how a fanatic thinks......I guess they don't realize that everyone thinks they are assholes too.

Wrong Turn... Ah yes. The movie about the inbred killers of WV... in Greenbrier County, WV. It was a very accurate portrayal of life here in WV. Especially in Greenbrier County.

http://www.greenbrierwv.com/home/index.asp

I am so sick of this movie already. I love how Hollywood portrays it as a "beautiful story." Since when is a story about two people cheating on their spouses a beautiful story whether the characters are gay or straight?

I guess that is what I get for posting a comment on this site. I some how left the superficial and stepped into Dr Phil. The point was WV has not banned the movie, it hasn't made it here yet. Woody Allen movies aren't always released here. I made stereotypical comments about Heath because he did the same. Deliverance while filmed in GA has been unfairly associated with all southern states. So please forgive me for being a sarcastic bitch I didn't realize Phil Donahue came out of retirement to monitor this site. I actually think Heath and Jake look hot in the movie, but that is just the way I roll. (wait let me guess technically Phil Donahue is not retired...blah blah).

How do the people from WVa who claim that there have been no lynchings in the past 25 years know this? Did you do a google search on "lynchings West Virginia 20th century"?? You can't honestly believe that every incident like that gets reported and publicized can you? There are all kinds of "minority bashings" that take place every day in this country and I would guess only a tiny fraction of them get reported.

Why is it that people always want to focus on what gay people do sexually? Brokeback Mountain is a love story that includes some sex scenes, just like HUNDREDS of films with man-woman pairs, but is deemed the "gay cowboy movie" by the press and censored by those who are queasy about two men being together. Being gay isn't wholly about choice or sex, rather who you fall in love with. Why can't we celebrate love instead of breaking people down for their ignorance or hatred? And that includes you Heath!

Mormons vs. gays = controversy.

And I'm sure with a small film like this, a big star like Ledger has a nice back-end deal (no pun intended) so these "controversies" are lining his pockets. Of course he's going to fan the fire with over-the-top public statements about lynchings and Mormons.

Unless Brokeback is experiencing the widest release in motion picture history, there are THOUSANDS of theaters across the country that will never show it.

A few things need to be addressed here:
1. The biggest reason WV became a state separate from Virginia was because of the issue of slavery, i.e. WV'ians did not like it. They wanted to be a state who did not tolerate cruelty against other humans. (Now who is the "normal" Virginia?)
2. WV may have it’s backwoods, ignorant people but show me a state that doesn’t have people like this, and I’ll show you Jessica Simpson’s MENSA certificate.
3. These backwoods, ignorant people do not make up the entire state of West Virginia and actually represent a small fraction of people in the state.
4. What the fuck does Heath Ledger know about American history in the first place? He is Australian.
5. The most recent lynchings in the US have taken place in Georgia and South Carolina, not West Virginia. In fact, if anyone thinks WV is such a horrible place, come visit and see for yourself before you judge an entire demographic of people whom you know absolutely nothing about. I can guarantee you will be pleasently surprised and find the kindest, friendliest people located in the most beautiful place on earth. In fact, one of West Virginia's biggest sources of revenue is our Hospitality and Tourism industry.
6. I also find it very disrespectful that Heath Ledger would choose to insult West Virginia at a time when our state has recently suffered a great loss (since he knows so much about what goes on in our state.)
7. I would like Heath Ledger to know that there are plenty of people in WV who wanted to see "Brokeback Mountain", myself being one of them. However, at this point I'll be damned if I pay money to see this film and further increase his wealth. The only way I will see "Brokeback Mountain" now is if I illegally download it. (And yes, computers do exist in WV)

Salt Lake City has the highest number of subscriptions to the Spice Channel, so I find it a bit hypocritical that this movie would be banned.

Princess, I'll have a penis party with Jake Gyllenhall anyday. But I digress... Thank you all for entertaing this hillybilly gal.

I dont understand why everybody is bashing this Utah theater chain for banning this movie that they feel strong moral and religious convictions against. Are movie theater owners now somehow held to a some "high code of freedom" that they have to show a movie if they dont want to? Get real people! It's a business. The local theater chain where I live (MI) has declined to show a number of movies lately, most recently Hostel. Go see it at another theater.

Living in Utah, let me just say that Larry Miller (owner of the Utah Jazz and several auto dealerships)did decline to show the movie at his theater. That was a breach of contract that he had with the distributor. While I disagree with his decision not to show the film as scheduled, that doesn't reflect the views of everyone in Utah. There are other theaters within 15 minutes of his that are showing the film and when I went to a theater on Sunday, Brokeback Mountain had been sold out for every showing. There is a large gay community in Utah and there has been a huge outcry about Larry Miller and other high profile conservatives stand on this movie.

I am a heterosexual, married mom of 3, non-mormon. I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. My problem with Larry Miller's decision is that he is in the business of showing movies. He doesn't have to endorse or support their content. By inferring that he doesn't approve of the homosexual content in Brokeback Mtn, he in turn infers that he is ok with the content of every other movie that he does show in his theater. This includes movies that have extreme violence, torture, heterosexual activity, etc. So while others can argue it's an issue of morality and he's protecting his "family" establishment, I say it was a chicken *$%^ knee-jerk response to the conservative population here and it's going to hurt him in the long run. He didn't just lose my business, he lost my respect. He's a businessman who didn't keep his word.

This is for dude! (comment #49)

The "Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks you're an asshole" bumper sticker is meant for athiests and such to mock protestants, not the other way around. Get it?

The person who said that West Virginia is "the most beautiful place on earth" may not ever have traveled. I drive through WV all the time and always wonder why anybody would actually choose to live there. But I digress.

Jonboy wrote...

How do the people from WVa who claim that there have been no lynchings in the past 25 years know this? Did you do a google search on "lynchings West Virginia 20th century"??

You can't honestly believe that every incident like that gets reported and publicized can you? There are all kinds of "minority bashings" that take place every day in this country and I would guess only a tiny fraction of them get reported.

OK, I did. And I found this site: http://www.nathanielturner.com/lynchingbystateandrace.htm

Between 1882 and 1962 WV had 48 lynchings (whites and blacks). Mississippi had the record with 578. I'm fairly certain you'll find Brokeback Mountain playing in states with high numbers of past lynching.

That's because the one has nothing to do with the other.

If I remember correctly, WV passed anti-lynching leigslation in 1921. Now by lynching, I'm talking about a mob executing a person without trial. This execution usually involved hanging. Sometimes they were hate crimes aimed at African Americans and sometimes it was just old fashioned vigalante justice aimed at... well, whoever. That is what lynchings are.

And yes, I'm fairly certain no large mobs of people have been roaming around hanging people in WV since I was born 34 years ago.

"Minority bashings" as you say are not lynchings. There have definitely been hate crimes in this state and many, many others, ove rthe past few years. But again, what does that have to do with the film Brokeback Mountain?

Heath said: “I heard a while ago that West Virginia was going to ban it but that’s a state that was lynching people only 25 years ago so that’s to be expected.”

Heard where? And the implication is that the state govt. of WV was trying to ban the film. I'll ask you and everybody else to find some evidence that West Virginia has in any way shape or form banned this film. Use Google or what ever resources you'd like.

This is for badattitood # 60.

I can see how the fine print was not seen on the bumper sticker. I guess if I was tailgating and squinting enough I would have been able to read the fine print, THAT WASN'T THERE.

Oh shit, that's right it just called non-believers assholes. Becuase I am sure, that calling people assholes for not believing is in the bible. In fact, I believe the bible actually states to embrace those that do not believe, not mock them and call them names. But I imagine you were sleeping during that part of Sunday school.

Think before you respond!

It's so fascinating to watch a group of peoples' collective sense of humor die. In real time, no less.

Heath has now signed for Bareback Mountain II, the sequel prequel to the story of two married men who return to a mountain to rediscover their true selves and revel in the true nature of man and animal.

They rediscover their great love of penis by adding the sheep to the penis party. The joy of their natural embrace is further added in its intimacy in this ultimate sharing with nature.

Baaaaaaaaaaaa

Get it, yes.........but it was also next to the one that says I believe in Jesus!

I wonder if Heath would be interested in this article. And I also point out the date of 2005. Hhhhmmmm.....

http://www.eniar.org/news/kkk3.html

Hey folks, I've got my pressing iron out, ready to go. Who needs their panties unbunched??

Sammygirl, Heath says he's first in line.

girliemom --

Thanks for being the voice of reason here. Well said and right on.

dude!

what are you getting all worked up about? I was actually, kinda on your side. I know what the stupid sticker means b/c my best friend has one on her car and she bought it off a rack of similarly themed stickers, most of which ragged on religion in general. No company in its right mind would try to market that crap to Christians. Sheesh, do you want a valium? I've got one left. The hypocrite you saw with the sticker was obviously trying to turn the meaning around.

princess373:

You are forgiven...just don't do it again.

Dr Phil

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I hope everyone here takes everything in their lives this seriously HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I generally enjoy this site for being funny but you must be at the bottom of the barrel to resort to gay porn jokes for Brokeback Mountain. HAHAHAHA, penis party??? Yeah, clever. You pretty obviously haven't seen the movie so quite frankly, you've come off like a fifteen year old boy. Maybe a couple fart and poop jokes next???

PS, I'm not really sure how many people have seen the movie but Heath's comment on WV wasn't entirely out of left field. Part of the movie involved a lynching so I think that's where he's coming from with that comment.

JESUS CHRIST people...there are a lot of people in this room that need to be on some kind of anti-aggression medication.

CALM DOWN...take a chill pill...go see Sammygirl and get your panties unbunched...

Besides...Utah, West Virginia, and every other state sucks ass compared to California...WOOT WOOT Southern Cali Resident and Proud!!!!

Just what I need a guy from Australia, one of the most racist, homophobic, mysoginist countries in the world telling me about the history of intolerence in the US. Hey Heath ever heard of the aboriginies? Probably not, becuase white people in Australia don't like to talk about them since they spent a hundred years killing and "assimilating" them. Nice race riots in Sydney there a few weeks back Heath, why no comment on them.?Someone needs to tell these fucking idiots in hollywood there is a reason they're making gay cowboy movies and not lecturing at Harvard. George Clooney, Warren Beatty and Tim robbins I know you have an opinion, but guess what?So do the rest of us. Only we can't use our celebrity to show the world how fucking stupid and uninformed our opinions are. Jeuses christ you recite lines someone else wrote for a living, how the fuck do you think that makes you smarter than the rest of us heathens? All of these assholes are also to stupid to realize that thier retarded mumblings were a big reason normal people coudn't bring themselves to vote Democrat in the last election even though they supported John Kerry. Keeping yapping you fucking rocket scientists and you'll see Jeb Bush in the white house next.

I can see the gay porn already...Sheath Wedger and Jake Gayinall star in Bareback Mountin'!

I just think it;s funny right after doing this film he was in Casanova, a man who had more sex with woman then anyone...ever. He had so much sex with them in fact, he died of Syphilis, but since they didn't know what that was back then, he had sex with even more woman, because he thought it would help his illness.

Bareback Mountin? Brilliant!!!! Anybody who gets all serious up in here should be banned!!! D'oh!!!

Hey Hugh (#77)

Lay off the Australians my friend - I happen to be one, and if you're slagging Heath for discussing tolerance in the US - do you live here? Don't think so. Your view of Australia has been formed by what, watching Fox News?

Aboriginal culture has been taught in schools since the 70s, a lot of Australian landmarks go by their Aboriginal names, and Aboriginal artists, politicians and sports people are among the most celebrated citizens. Perhaps your encyclopedic knowledge of my country needs to be updated?

As for the "riots" - there was ONE, and that was more along the lines of people getting very drunk and listening to a few idiots in the crowd. The police themselves have come out and said that out of the 5,000 at Cronulla - 4900 of them were well behaved and did nothing wrong, and majority of the trouble-makers were from a Neo-Nazi political party. I'm pretty sure you have them in the states... and I'm pretty sure I can find more than 100 to turn up for something.

I will ask you - as I'm sure you were asking Heath - to get off your bloody soapbox, until you're educated about something.

BTW, I'm not a big fan of Heath Ledger by any stretch of the imagination, personally, seen a few of his movies (the Aussie ones that I doubt you've seen) and don't like his acting, but that's just me. Doesn't mean I'm going to bite his head off for making a comment on the red carpet. He was asked a question "how do you feel about two Amercian States, Utah & West Virginia, banning the movie?" I'll give you that the interviewer didn't exactly do his research on who had banned the movie, but the remark was on the spur of the moment - he didn't quite have time to sit down and research the history of lynching in West Virginia and nail down the precise timeline of the last lynching. Just like a lot of people have tried to do so on the forum.

*knickers unbunched*

Hey ShorePauly (#78) - Bareback Mountain has already been done my friend...check it out:

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2686449

dude!

It's highly ironic that you're telling another poster to 'think' before they post when you can't even understand a basic bumper sticker.
"Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks you're an asshole." is mocking over-zealous CHRISTIANS, not people who don't believe in Christ.

Also. This thread is funny (lame gay jokes in the OP? not so much). Everyone is getting their panties in a bunch over nothing.
Homophobic cinema owner = stupid
Heath Ledger's comments = stupid
There we go: Summary!

*Offers zoloft to 90% of the posters*

heath could have chosen his words more carefully, i agree. But in the end he makes a valid point about Utah for sure. What larry did (electing not to show BBM) is censorship and not free speech because it affects a larger number of people than just himself. I also strongly agree with what girliemom said in post 59, that by saying he won't play brokeback because he morally disagrees with it, is saying that he does agree with all the other terrible things that are in movies today (violet sex, rapes..violence, etc) All of that is okay with larry, but not homosexuality portrayed in a postive way? HYPOCRITE

I agree with the pts made by girliemom (that he appears to consent to all the others by handpicking this one out), but I think Larry's just pandering to the Mormons, the same way the monkey in the White House panders to the religious right. It doesn't mean he actually STANDS for anything. It's just how he stays in power in his particular position.

And as an unrelated side note, it was kinda scary to see Hathoway's boobs flash in the movie. "The Princess DAIries" =X

i seriously cannot believe it is 2006 and we still have sh!t like this going on. As a proud fellow Australian i believe Heath Ledger has every right to express his own opinion and i believe he was right to do so. homosexuality is not going to disappear and it's time for the self righteous and judgemental idiots out there to deal with it.

as for the immature gay jokes.. you all sound like dumb 14 yr old boys, get a clue..

i cannot believe its 2006 and we still have this going on. As i proud fellow Australian i believe Heath Ledger has every right to express his opinion. he was asked a question and he answered it truthfully but obviously some people can't handle the truth. Homosexuality is NOT going to disappear and it's time for the self-righteous and judgmental idiots out there to deal with it.

as for the 'clever' gay jokes, you all sound like 14 yr old dumbasses.. get a clue

Well, everyone else is commenting, I suppose...I'll just jump right in here. I give you a simple and not that moving opinion. In Utah I'm sure plenty of people have, are, will see this movie. Because if I can recall correctly Utahns love their movies and not every Utahn is Mormon. There are especially plenty of college communities (naturally excusing BYU from that list) that I'm sure will boost ticket sales, just by the nature of the variety of persons in those communities, they are much less sheltered. Though I have to admit, just when I was getting homesick for good old Wasatch Mountains I read this tidbit of news and felt thoroughly disappointed. Yet, I wont condemn a whole state because of Larry Miller's decision. I doubt I needed at all to add to the comment list, I felt girliemom spoke her piece very well. I'm out of date from leaving Utah 5 years ago. It was nice to see someone comment, and strongly, about the state. I think Heath will his share of profits from Utah just yet.

badattitood

I'm with you. My apologies, I noticed later that I misread your message. I love pride, can have another swallow.

Although the valium sounds nice, might not be strong enough. Cheers!

Heath Ledger has the freedom to say what he wants with regard to Mormons and WV. Likewise, Larry Miller has the freedom to not show the movie if he so chooses, even if it means breaking a contract to a distributor. And we all have the freedom to drive 10 more minutes to the other theater and watch it and spend our $8 somewhere other then Larry Miller's theater.

Aint freedom grand?

Wow... Why do so many people give a shit about what b-list celebraties say?

James Earl Cash

Note in that same message I explain that it was right next to the I love Jesus sticker. Even badattitood understood, once I noted the other sticker, that the person was twisting its meaning. Plus, I have since apologized for my error. So for your sake, I understood the bumpersticker.

Ironic you should respond without the whole story....hence why we are here today debating ledger's comments.

hey KatieA978 I am actually Canadian so my soap box is always going to be higher than your lebanesse bashing, asian excluding homeland. So go throw another shrimp on the fucking barbie or something and take Heath "just because someone asked me a question I'm going to be a dumbfuck" Ledger with you.

Re: 77. - HughJorganthethird

"Just what I need a guy from Australia, one of the most racist, homophobic, mysoginist countries in the world telling me about the history of intolerence in the US."

Three words:
Get yourself educated.

Seriously, wth? Do you honestly think Australia beats the US with ANY of those problems? I do like this country, but I'll be damned if I'm not a bit aware of all the messed up stuff happening here. We have several high crime rates, and our actual violence *crushes* Australia's "crime". Check the stats, and do us all a favor and learn something.

Anyway...

I'm not a big Heath fan either, but guys, seriously... WHO CARES? I swear, people will get worked up about any small comment a celeb says, won't they? Let's face it, many of you would make the same errors and mistakes too.

Gee Hugh, sounds like sour grapes that you get to live in chilly Canada, and you've been watching the lovely sunny beaches here in Oz...

I don't think I own a soapbox actually, simply because all the people I've ever literally seen on one are mentally disturbed and preaching about the voices in their heads.

Where did the "asian excluding" part come from? Australia is part of Asia, and I'd say a good 15-20% of our society come from Asian backgrounds... how can we be excluding them?

Back to Heath, someone asked him a question - and however misguided his opinion may be, he has one, and was asked for it.

BTW, they're called PRAWNS. Only Amercians (and now obviously Canadians) call them shrimp. And seeing that ad campaign was from the 1980s, I still think you need to update your knowledge on Australia.

>In July, 2000, a black, gay man named JR Warren was beaten to death in West Virginia by three men. Good for Heath Ledger for taking a stand against that kind of bigotry.

Heath Ledger's a goddamn actor-- THAT'S ALL!
He made a movie to satisfy his own self-serving ego needs (as most actors do) not to mention make millions and live in a huge mansion, not to "take a stand." Although the Warren incident was tragic, this type of bigoted incident has happened in many other states. It's not fair to point fingers at a particular state using a single incident as "evidence."

a straight guy that just had to pretend to be gay (and did a BAD job too) and get money for it -___________-
Well I actually have to live with that and I certainly don't get any money for it. Get a little hotter Heath Ledger, and about 20 years younger, and I will screw you in the butt and make it hurt. Why? Because I fucking hate you Heath Ledger. Eat my homosexual shit.

in the late '90s a student at a freaking art school in CANADA for christ's sake was beaten to death for being gay, okay? You can't use one example to show the entire history.. Idiots...

HughJorganthethird sounds about as Canadian as Donald Rumsfeld.

1) People who think lynching no longer exists are too stupid to discuss discrimination. Have you heard of James Byrd? 1998. Wake up. Ignorance is a form of discrimination.

2) Also, check out the academic literature that suggests that homophobic men are more aroused than normal men (non-homophobes) by gay porn. All of you gay-bashers on the site. Guess what? You just came out of the closet!

To find out more about how gay you are, check out this site: http://www.petertatchell.net/homophobia/bigots%20are%20buggers.htm

Somewhere this guy's poor publicist is crying herself to sleep with a box a Krispy Kremes and a COSTCO-sized bottled of NyQuil.

bahahah...christ...what a bunch of tools some of you are! as an aussie, reading some of the crap certain posters have been spouting actually made me laugh out LOUD. so utterly absurd.

especially at the blinding hypocrisy. accusing heath of commenting about a foreign country despite his ignorance, yet you guys go and do the exact same thing about australia. nice double standard there.

yeh, australia does have a somewhat racist history. one that despite the recent supposed 'riot', has actually been drastically turned around in the last 30 years. ever since a multicultural policy was adopted in the early 70s we have worked really hard at creating a successful multicultural society, and despite the snippets of information you are basing your opinions on....we are actually doing VERY well. if you guys had any clue (or had ever visited australia) you would know 90% of the time you would realise we live in a pretty harmonious multicultural society.and a recent study showed we are one of the only western countries that doesnt have ethnic ghettos....our society is extremely intergrated in comparison to others.

pauline hanson....she is ancient history. so she was elected to the house of reps...BIG DEAL! thats democracy my friends. all the crackpots get a say, even if they are a tiny minority of the population. canada and america don't have the occasional right wing representative in government?? america is RUN by an extreme right wing administration for chrissake.

as for the 'riots'. i saw the coverage the northern hemisphere got of this incident and it was wildly inaccurate. it was a rally that got out of hand. and as another aussie has already mentioned, the whole thing was hijacked by a number of psycho skinheads. which exist everywhere. and what the media also failed to report was the long and troubled history behind the whole thing. people didnt just wake up one day and say YEEEEH LETS BASH LEBS!

for starters, Cronulla is renowned for its insular nature (as alot of beach suburbs are). and there has been contentious issues concerning who has the right to go there since the 1950s (before multiculturalism). combine that with the fact Sydney is the hotbed for gang activity by young Lebanese men, and has been for over a decade. and not just criminal activity, but the sustained and deliberate harassment of 'skippies' (white aussies, especially women). including numerous vicious gang rapes on white aussie girls simply because they were skips.

i won't go into more detail because unless you live in Sydney you can't really understand....but trust me, this anger didn't come out of nowhere. combine that with the fact a few days before the 'riot', a Lebanese gang violently bashed up a couple of volunteer teenage lifesavers at Cronulla beach. now in Australia lifesavers are iconic and highly valued, so bashing them was similar to perhaps bashing brave New York firemen or something like that. it pissed people off BAD.

having explained all this, i do in no way excuse the embarassing behaviour of those at the rally. i hated seeing my flag used in such a way. it made Australians look like ignorant reactionary racists, and the majority of us are NOT. most of them were drunken teenagers egged on by their mates....more bloody idiots than violent racists. what your media also failed to report is that people high up in the Cronulla surfing community came out and publicly apologised very soon after, and there was lots of reconciliation meetings with the Lebanese Council etc etc. and there has been no trouble since.

but all of this has nothing to do with homophobia. the accusation that Australia is a homophobic nation is utterly RIDICULOUS!! ever heard of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras? I guess not. we are the 'pinkest' city in the world, even more so than San Fransisco. we may not have gay marriage legalised yet, but we are certainly not a homophobic nation. get your facts right.

as for Heath Ledger....quite frankly i think hes a bit of a tool. Australian or not. but just because hes not a Yank doesn't mean he can't comment on American history (even if he is wrong). ive spent ALOT of time in the USA and quite frankly i lost count of how many times i realised i knew more about American history than alot of the Yanks i came across. being an expert on American history isn't exclusive to Americans.

anyway, the post comes across as very defensive....but quite frankly i don't actually care all that much. those of you who made such sweeping generalisations about a beautiful country you know nothing about....GOOD! hopefully your ill informed beliefs will keep you from ever coming here and soiling the land of oz with your grubby ignorance.

ta-ta!

I'm sorry gays are not humans, and they will all go to hell. Also the guy above me needs a better hobby then typing out essays for comments on a celebrity blog.

I am Australian and I am neither homophobic nor racist.

Heath might have spoken out on a contensious issue which has got a lot of people riled up but hey, it's his opinion. We've all got opinions. And for some reason people who are famous- be they a, b, c, or d (read porn) grade stars- get to go on record spewing a bunch of crap on a daily basis. (Plenty of other references on this site about stupid celebrities getting on their high horse about something.)

I totally agree with S.Starr, Cali rox... Utah/Virginia WHO? end discussion.

Hahah I did like the comment about heath Ledger being a candy bar... that's kind of hot. And the POINT of a religious conviction in general is that it's different than a Political conviction IE more specific and passing moral judgement. Two, the point of tolerance in the US is allowing people, no matter if you agree with their religious convictions to HAVE them. That means you're allowed to dissapprove of whatever you want, not that you have to approve of whatever people want to do. Mormons shouldn't stop disapproving of homosexuality any more than Hindus should stop dissapproving of beef-eaters just because You don't like it. People tend to get gung-ho about religious matters in a trendy sort of way. It's almost like it's 'in' to diss conservatives when 90% of people who are disparaging just repeat what they've heard, not experienced. In my opinion there's a lot of ignorance on both sides of the arguement.

honestly, who CARES if they lynch people in West Virginia? That was part of Texas' legal death penalty system too. Whether you fry, poison, or hang a man he's still dead so why nit-pick the 'how' of it? Seriously, to get hyped up over Ledger, Utah, or WV is more than mildly ridiculous. He's an actor doing what actors do, promoting his work, and they are just people doing what people do. Believing in something that someone else doesn't. Get over it.

This is so cool I LOVE pissing off Aussies. Nice 3000 word replies there guys. Methinks thou dost protest too much.I guess you don't want to hear my many stoiries of drunken obnoxious Aussie sailors getting shit-kicked everywhere they go because of their neandertholic treatment of women? And I wonder why no Abroriginal Australian has gotten in my face to tell me how well treated they are in OZ? As for learning something I'll try , but it's going to be hard to keep up with you super genius Australians. I especially love the guy who tells me the crime rates in the US crush those of Australia. Really? Theres a shocker. Let's see, one country has about 360 million people and one has about 30 million. That woudn't have anything to do with it would it? Maybe, but obviously I need to be more educated. As for the Asian excluding I should have just said excluding because here in Canada we accept and assimilate the pooor, desperate starving boat people that show up on our coasts, unlike the wonderfull land of OZ.

eg: this headline from Aug 27, 2001

Australia Refuses 434 Boatpeople to Land

Think the headlines funny? U should read the rest of the article. Of course the refugees were Afganistani and Sri Lankan, both fleeing deadly wars, but you get the point. As for being jealous of your warm sunny beaches, damn right I am. OZ is the most beutifull country I have ever been to. Which makes it harder to figure out why you all sound so damn uptight.

I also read that someone said I sound about as Canadian as Donald Rumsfeld. I like that alot. I think I will change my handle.As you can see not all Canucks are hand-holding flower children.

It's a myth that Australian's come from a long line of theives, rapists, and thugs. That's Pommy propaganda. The convicts were the cream of British political intelligentsia. They were insurgents plotting for social revolution. A threat to the English establishment, they were were rounded up and transported to Australia where they quickly established a caring, egalitarian society.

dude!

I can see that you apologised, and good for you. But that was AFTER my message. I was just calling you on being a little harsh on badattitood when he was just explaining it to you.

*shrug* No hard feelings.

lol hugh....you wanker. yes we refuse people who come here illegally. we are a sovereign nation and have every right to choose who we let into our country, and on what terms. and if you did any research apart from ONE freakin article you would realise that the international refugee treaty is interpreted differently in each different country, and we are not the only ones who have strict policies on ILLEGAL immigrants.

open no questions asked immigration often ends in diaster....look at the backlash going on in even the most liberal european countries at the moment (holland being an example).

personally i oppose our stringent immigration policy, and have twice voted against the party that was pushing for it. i don't mind warranted informed criticism on it, but your self righteous 'oh canada is so humanitarian' bullshit is another story.

as for 'asian excluding'...what the?? why dont u google some more and u will find out that asian (especially chinese) are now a massive part of the australian population and highest rising immigrant group.

and aboriginal australians didn't get up in your face about how well they are treated...what the HELL?? considering aboriginals are little over 1% of the entire population i highly doubt you even met or even vaguely interacted with any of them. let alone discussed their history of supposed mistreatment. and no throwing money at the costumed ones playing the digderedoo near the harbour doesn't count as a discussion on social issues.

i've been to canada and i have to say i didn't come across many of your indigenous folk rushing up to inform me of their happy worry free lives. give a freakin break.

as for the aussie sailors...oh u have STORIES! woweeeee. wtf has that got to do with anything? what do you think the american and canadian sailors do when they dock in sydney....have picnics in the park and take ladies for an afternoon stroll? please. thats sailors, not australians.

and the crime stats....you twit. you are being sarcastic about us being geniuses but you can't even understand the most simple concepts regarding statistics. you have to compare them per head of population to get the real picture. the differing population numbers are irrelevant.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_tot_cri

total crimes per head of population in the world. oh look, theres the US at the top of the list! and theres Canada. wheres australia? hmmmm.

and yay for Canada being an accept everyone lets hold hands and feed the starving no questions asked country. good for you, really. i admire the liberalism in canada very much, and i wish australia was more like u guys in that respect. no one is trying to say which country is 'better', i was simply trying to defend my nation from the absurd generalisations you were making. which make no sense considering you have supposedly been here. you are obviously just being a facetious little twat. much like the guy who writes this website, but at least he his hilarious. most of the time.

and ps- canada may be all lovey dovey and perfect but its also boring as all hell. maybe thats the trade off.

James Earl Cash

Just know that your message was read after my apology was written to badattitood. A littl harsh? Hell, badattitood nailed with the vailum. I also realized that I did not provide the info about the "I love Jesus" sticker next to it, which changed the meaning.

As you said, done! Not a hard feeling in body towards you. Goodtimes!

I live in West Virginia all my life and I will be 26 years old this year and there was no fucking lynching in West Virginia in 1980! What a jackass!

Hating on Mormons and West Virginians isn't much more intelligent than hating on gays, Heath. I will never understand how people will justify saying a hurtful thing about someone in response to something hurtful being said to them (or someone else). Pot? Kettle? Yeah.

I totally agree with S.Starr, Cali rox... Utah/Virginia WHO? end discussion.

WEST Virginia...separate state from Virginia..

Yeah we lynch people every weekend. Hell since we don't have those fancy talking boxes y'all call the TV what else are we going to do for entertainment besides fucking our cousins?

SHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTT UUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!

As far as I am concerned no one in the forum is a historian specializing in australian, west virgian, or utah. So none of you know what the fuck you are talking about. There are over 100 people in the forum pulling shit out of there asses that have absolutley no fucking clue what the hell they are talking about.

Lay off the "FACTS" and stick to opinions people...

BTW...

#1. Posts over 2 paragraphs never get read b/c they are TOO FUCKING LONG!!!!

#2. Just b/c you live in West Virginia or Utah doesn't mean you know shit about the entire state...I haven't a clue with the hell happens in Cali...or even southern cali for that matter. So jump down off your high horse...same goes for all the people from australia...

We may not know everything, but we do at last know WV is a separate state :)

Somewhere, John Wayne is turning over in his grave.

An Australian makes a movie about homosexuals in the most all-american of all-american genres, the western.

Who cares what Heath Ledger thinks? He's obviously another ignorant self absorbed actor that went from making crappy chick flicks to crappy dick flicks.

im not on my 'high horse' at all. im not really defending heath, quite frankly i think hes a knob. i don't think defending my country from wildly inaccurate generalisations is really that big of a deal. and if it bothers anyone, don't read it. simple.

interesting about an australian being in a western. heath was also in The Patriot, as was another aussie...mel gibson. telling THE most american of stories. are you guys running out of yank actors or somethin? whats doin?

Yeah, the whole essay format has gotta go. Nobody reads those tirades, so save them for Race Relations 101.

So bottom line is this: Heath Ledger is a tool, Australia has it's problems (but I'd visit in a heartbeat if I could), Utah and W. Virginia are not entirely backwards and inbred but only in some areas, gays should not be likened to blacks, and some bloggers are way too fucking sensitive. Did I cover everything. Sheesh.

Sammygirl...you just summed up 120 posts into 1...you are my hero.

On December 16, 1897 John F. Morgan was the last man hanged publicly in West Virginia, this after having been convicted of murdering Chloe Greene and two of her children in Jackson County. Lynching and/or public hanging was outlawed in West Virginia in 1921.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE:

We should feel very bad for Heath. There is an obvious hidden resentment behind his accusations, I am quite suprised no one has drawn the same conclusion. . .

Obviously NO men are hung in Austrailia. This explains Mr. Ledger's resentment, Mr. Crowe's severe testosterone issues, Australian women's obsession for foreign men, especially Americans (Ms. Kidman will vouch for this) and Ian Thorpe's GINORMOUS feet...(I mean really....we know ALL the growth went to his feet...he does wear speedos)

Anyhoo...I couldn't resist this one. No offense to all listed...I do love you all even if you are neurotic. I mean really...just state the obvious Heath...Mormon's are weird, and West Virginians like their cowboys a little less . . .Village People.

Kit

With Hugh's astute grasp of per capita statistics - he probably is Don Rumsfeld. But convictchick - if you want BORING try driving from Ceduna to Perth. I like OZ, but face it - the place is largely a sandbox.

Sammygirl,thank you. Hugh I don't care what they say about you, your comments are funny. I think looking at Colins penis has put everything into perspective for me.

Meh... I hate it when this site gets serious. Anyway, I agree with what Heath is saying: why the hell should the state decide whether or not people can see a movie? That's absurd. Anyone who's against the film doesn't HAVE to go & support it; it's not like anyone's gonna stick a hot poker up their ass if they don't. However, that should be an individual choice, not the state's. But the way Heath went about getting this point across was all wrong. Silly boy. I hope he's on the phone with his publicist right now.

I think the film should be banned in every state of every country. I think all Heath Ledger films should be banned. He's a backstabbing son of a bitch who shows no pride in his flag or country. He did afterall say, I dont know exactly but this is the jist of it, that he hated living in Australia and would never raise his children there. I think he, himself, should be banned from the planet. F**k you Heath, you're not welcome here!

Oh, and a quick note to Kitchy. This comment of yours about Australian women:

Australian women's obsession for foreign men, especially Americans (Ms. Kidman will vouch for this)

If you'd done your research at all you would know Ms. Kidman is actually engaged to Keith Urban and he is in fact Australian.

Convictchick and Hugh, you are both as ignorant as eachother. Neither of you can see or admit that America and Australia are just as racist as eachother. While America was killing "indians" Australia was killing "aboriginals", while America had KKK and lynchings Australia had yellow peril and our recent race riots. Lets all just agree we know these are generalisations, not personal attacks, and these comments really only adhere to small parts of the population.
You both seem to have forgotten that we're here to comment on Heath Ledger spitting shit over his gay movie being banned.
So, lets all just calm down and getiing back to taking the shit out of more celebrities... yay!!!

Amen to that sarakat. I come here mainly to abuse celebrities which is a very good passtime. Better than helping old ladies across the streets even! I think we should all just say no country is perfect and making personal attacks based on generalisations-- be they of Americans, Australians, gays, blacks, Mormons, etc-- is not as much fun.

BTW- convictchick: are you from Sydney? I'm from Melbourne.

yeh i live in sydney :)

sarakat i may be many things but ignorant is not one of them. i readily admitted that australia has a very racist past, did you not read that sentence? i was not denying racism exists, it does and im ashamed of it. i was simply pointing it out that hughs ideas about australia are not really based in reality. how is that ignorant?

as for heath, yeh he went through a wanky little period where he said despite the fact he loves australia, he couldnt live here coz hes so popular and gets mobbed by paps and whatever. but honestly...rusty crowe manages to live here just fine because unlike heath, he hasnt chosen to live in a huge beachfront mansion in Bronte with ceiling to floor GLASS WINDOWS! of course the paps are gonna take fotos of you heath, you KNOB.

so for ages i hated on him for that whiny bullshit, but i read in the paper the other day hes back living in sydney now and has apologised for bad mouthing australia. and has admitted that the problems he had living here were all of his own doing, and he has now learnt to be mature and just deal with it. and named his daughter the most aussie of all names - MATILDA! lol. clearly hes sucking up coz hes realised when aussies don't like ya, its not particularly pleasant.

at least he still has his accent. godamnit i hate when aussies go overseas and put on fake yank accents. anthony lapaligia, poppy montgomery and portia derossi (real name mandy rogers...bahah)....you can all go and get stuffed.

Could this site please install a MORON filter?

Wow...Sarakai, about Nicole Kidman...duh...that was the joke. She is with an Austrailian? Wow. I wish I knew how to read info like that like you do. Because I thought she was still with Tom Cruise...lovely American that he is. Unfortunately you didn't understand the joke. Subtle humor is like that, sorry, it's not able to be learned. You will get over it. It's ok, don't cry. You tried to abuse me and point out my shortcomings. Unfortunately for you, I am smarter than you. Sarcasm . . .it's new, it's funny and you should look up what it means. Do YOUR research...its unhealthy for your head to be in your ass for so long.

Oh so NOT to be too off subject.
Heath...WHY did you have to join the ranks of the crazy nut dorks in Hollywood? WHY OH WHY? Just to be appropriate for this movie...(to use Matt Stone & Trey Parker here...) Heath Ledger - F.A.G

ps -

Sarakai attacked me first. He/she made it personal before any of us did, then has the retarded nerve to say "You both seem to have forgotten that we're here to comment on Heath Ledger spitting shit over his gay movie being banned.So, lets all just calm down and getiing back to taking the shit out of more celebrities"

Every country is racist, in one form or another. I for one do not believe that racism is any different than classism which was even more prevolent than racism for centuries. America, England, Austrailia...etc... had slaves LONG before they discovered the use of another race...indentured servitude for instance, the ability to give away a female as goods...ROME for god's sake. Racism was an excuse for power. If the Aborigines had been white they STILL would have used and killed them same with Slaves brought from Africa. They HAPPENED to be black. Had they been white, they still would have been enslaved simply because they were weaker and easily overcome. The hatred stemming from Racism is a completely different animal. Ignorance fuels it. The KKK is simply not any different than the Black panthers accepting the amount of members. The hatred for difference is exactly the same. Its not an American or an Austrailian thing...it's a human thing, instictual, based on education, learning. The difference in the animal world is they just eat each other.

OH and...Heath Ledger - F.A.G.

I am embarrassed to come from such an "immature society" that actually allows one man to exercise his freedom of speech by not showing a movie at his theater complex that he spent millions of dollars to build. I wish I was part of the more mature society where sweeping generalizations can be made about 12 million mormons based on one mans actions. I guess that does make sense since we all know that all muslims are like osama bin laden. Although I have not been to West Virginia I am equally sure that they are all hicks and lynchers despite the fact that I have never done any research on the area. Finally, as the newest member of the mature society I declare that Heath Ledger is a criminal. He is from Australia after all.

Having never met Heath I have no idea what kind of guy he is. His comments sound like they're not too far off re. the states he mentioned but perhaps it was dickish of him to say it. I've yet to meet a hick who likes being called one.

However, none of that makes a shred of difference to me because it has no bearing on his ability to do his job, which is to perform a role convincingly along with his fellow actors and hopefully make a good movie. That he has done, beautifully. It doesn't seem like too many of you folks have actually seen the thing you're ranting about. I suggest you do. It's the best movie (gay or not) that I have seen in years. I defy even the redneck morons among you not to be moved by it (and I don't mean moved to lashing a homo to a fencepost and bludgeoning him to death - yes, I'm talking to you, Wyoming).

Just as I don't give a shit how many blowjobs the president gets from dumpy interns as long as he does his job, I don't care how much an actor shits at the mouth as long as he does his. You all keep saying how nobody cares what actors think and they should keep their opinions to themselves. Well, clearly you care or you wouldn't be flapping about it like this.

And for the guy who writes the site - love the biting wit and the sarcasm and all the rest of it, but this post was like Bill O'Reilly took over your keyboard for a second. Not so much with that, please? Just a humble request from someone who has been boring her friends for months with tales of your brilliance and doesn't want to feel dirty now (and no, watching Heath and Jake didn't make me feel dirty - it made me wish I was a gay cowboy). Thanks.

kitchy i agree with you that racism and discrimination is a human thing, it is not exclusive to one country. and it is not always white people hating dark people. some of the worst racism ive witnessed has been asians against other asians...especially japan vs china. jeeeebbbbus they don't like each other.

but errr....australia never had slaves. unless you count the poor buggers that were sent here as convicts for stealing bread. england used australia to dump its waste, and somehow we managed to build a bloody great country out of it. go team!

and yes heath is sooooo F.A.G. team america = best movie ever. fuck yeh!

ps- faghag....great post! :)

Well convictchick obviously what is needed here is some sort of culural exchange. They only way to trully find out about each others countries is for you to come here (winter) and for me to come down there (summer). I think this is a reasonable way to end our debate.

Convictchick...making aboriginies work in your house or on your farm w/o pay. What exactly IS that called? I suppose SLAVE wasn't the correct word. Forcibly extorted unless they want to die person. Thats a much better name you are right. Australia never had slaves. Right. Only Americans are guilty of killing natives. God forbid Australia had ever done anything wrong. I love Australia AND Australians, but god, get off your horses man, your history is a little more sordid that just blaming England for everything. Your ancestors were as much those english bastards as it was the "poor bread stealers". You weren't there, the native people were. How do THEY feel about how well your country has done? My ancestors were English bastards too, and we have done pretty well also. But no other country will ever admit that...No America has only become what they have by hurting others. Sorry. your "Indian's" or "Salves" just look a little different but theye sure as hell bled the same.

excuse me...I meant Indians and slaves.

Salves is a completely different argument. I prefer Neosporin.

i personally love it when clueless Holly-wierdo's try re-writing history and just fire off comments without anything
of accurate fact and expect us to agree with them no-matter what. hey just because you make millions, have fans, mounted
Jake Fillin-his-hole, it does not make you a historical scholar but hey what do i know. just remember opinions are like
*ssholes and everybody has one... and Holly-wierd is full of'em. Personally i would like to see someone corner Ledger in
a live interview (Oscars) and ask him how Jakes Man-aise tasted. that, too me, would be one of the single greatest moments on TV.

what the hell kitchy? calm the hell down sweetheart, you might strain something.

where did i deny 'natives' were killed in australia? never. although it was quite different compared to what happened in America. it was more of a slow cultural death than a war or massacre. especially with the introduction of alcohol (not to mention western diseases).

and when i say slaves i mean we never had a slave TRADE. big difference. of course aboriginal people were exploited in homesteads and farms across australia for a long time, i dont deny that. but australia never had an organised slave trade. and i dont think by stating that fact that means i am some supposed denial about my country.

and where did i 'blame england' for everything? and actually my ancestors were irish and spanish immigrants, not 'english bastards' :)

and hugh....mate this exchange thing. im too soft to handle it. i went to canada in september and that was cold enough for me! i saw all the locals strollin around in t shirts and i was rugged up in a coat...lol. typical tragic beach goin aussie who just can't handle the cold.

God, people, can't we all just agree?
Heath Ledger = douche, for writing off a whole state and religion.
Homophobic Utah movie theatre owners = douche(s).
Australia, America, England, you name it = have horrendous histories of people being douches to each other.

Heath is soooo far behind. I named my budgie Matilda back in 1990.

okay, this heath this doesn't piss me off nearly as much as all the people that get on hear and post things like,
"Who cares" and
"why are you all wasting your time on b celebrities" and
"everyone is stupid for spending so much time about celebrities."

The irony is, you people who are making those comments, are in fact, commenting! Get off your high horse, and if you have something better to do, the go do it, and leave those of us who WANT to converse about this alone.

Who cares what Heath Ledger says? He is an Australian, so his comments carry about as much weight with me as the average North Korean's. Furthermore, why are you all getting worked up over this? We are talking about a MOVIE! A work of FICTION! Who cares?

He is totally wrong about the Lynchings in WV, I am from WV the last one was in the 30s. Also, in the 80s, down in the south there was a lynching. It happened all over the US, no one state is any more guilty than any other state who did this. Besides, he's gettin on us for hatin on gays, when he's hatin on us b/c of something most American states did. Fucking austrailian needs to get his U.S. Fuckin History straight.

convictchick, i totally understand (as an australian myself) where u r coming from and valued ur recital of australian history as it was all true but this comment made me think u were an ignoramous again:
..............
although it was quite different compared to what happened in America. it was more of a slow cultural death than a war or massacre. especially with the introduction of alcohol (not to mention western diseases).
...............

i guess u missed the part of our history where aboriginal men were sent running out into the bush then hunted for sport, or the part where we would tie aboriginal men to trees and make them watch as we raped and slaughtered their women, or when we would throw aboriginals overboard and as they held on to pull themselves back on board we'd cut off their arms and leave them for the sharks, or when we'd throw aboriginal babies over a cliff then watch as their mothers suicided in grief... yup, no massacres here with those mass graves that keep popping up!