Heath Ledger has lashed out at the U.S. theaters in Utah that refused to show his movie Penis Party Brokeback Mountain.
Heath Ledger doesn’t like West Virginia, Mormons
January 11th, 2006 // 149 Comments
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flamarkel | January 11, 2006 at 10:34 am
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?
sabinal | January 11, 2006 at 10:35 am
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.
uncommonamerican | January 11, 2006 at 10:36 am
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
Konig | January 11, 2006 at 10:38 am
He is right about the lynching and this site is wrong yet again.
puddytat | January 11, 2006 at 10:48 am
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.
lowtalker | January 11, 2006 at 10:54 am
Well said!
Jesse | January 11, 2006 at 11:03 am
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.
billthecat | January 11, 2006 at 11:04 am
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.
SuperSpence | January 11, 2006 at 11:09 am
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.
MtlMan | January 11, 2006 at 11:13 am
Lynching is not a thing of the past…
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/10/teens.lynching/index.html
artmonkey3000 | January 11, 2006 at 11:18 am
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.
RonVellekamp | January 11, 2006 at 11:22 am
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.
Tai! | January 11, 2006 at 11:27 am
his movie Penis Party Brokeback Mountain.
That made my day..school sucks but you rock.
knayte | January 11, 2006 at 11:28 am
“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.
Tai! | January 11, 2006 at 11:28 am
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
billthecat | January 11, 2006 at 11:33 am
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.
~S.Starr~ | January 11, 2006 at 11:33 am
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.
iamboredatwork | January 11, 2006 at 11:43 am
I personally think Heath should be lynched for naming his kid Matilda.
sportsgirl132 | January 11, 2006 at 11:43 am
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.
heartstring | January 11, 2006 at 11:45 am
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.
~S.Starr~ | January 11, 2006 at 11:50 am
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!
OJ | January 11, 2006 at 12:03 pm
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.
bafongu | January 11, 2006 at 12:35 pm
Heath Ledger? Is that like a candy bar for gay accountants? Melts in your mouth, not in your ass?
Shaun | January 11, 2006 at 12:42 pm
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.
pikebishop | January 11, 2006 at 12:48 pm
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.
sereeny | January 11, 2006 at 12:50 pm
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.
Jeema | January 11, 2006 at 12:50 pm
“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-
pikebishop | January 11, 2006 at 1:01 pm
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?
Jenny | January 11, 2006 at 1:01 pm
I like when celebrities make nasty, snarky comments. I hate it when they punished in the media for it.
The Devil | January 11, 2006 at 1:01 pm
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.
Jesse | January 11, 2006 at 1:14 pm
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.
Roddy von Seldeneck | January 11, 2006 at 1:15 pm
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.
booyagrandma | January 11, 2006 at 1:19 pm
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.
jean | January 11, 2006 at 1:23 pm
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.
yesdnil311 | January 11, 2006 at 1:34 pm
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.
princess373 | January 11, 2006 at 1:35 pm
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.
~S.Starr~ | January 11, 2006 at 1:54 pm
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.
southtexasgal | January 11, 2006 at 2:02 pm
And making harsh and rude remarks about your critics is going to win them over….
how?
He is such an idiot.
bigdaddy | January 11, 2006 at 2:08 pm
Being Gay is NOT being Black
I have had it with people using the
Court | January 11, 2006 at 2:10 pm
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.
The RZA | January 11, 2006 at 2:16 pm
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!!!
wvgirl | January 11, 2006 at 2:18 pm
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.
BrendaPayne | January 11, 2006 at 2:24 pm
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?
neonink | January 11, 2006 at 2:34 pm
I much prefer the West Virginia epic
WRONG TURN…
That’s more up WV’s alley anyway.
wvgirl | January 11, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Wrong Turn….yet another really bad movie that was filmed in CANADA!!!
heartstring | January 11, 2006 at 2:42 pm
I agree with wvgirl. Only difference is WV has an abundance of backward intolerant people.
But honestly, we aren’t all like that.
Mischief Managed | January 11, 2006 at 2:42 pm
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
HollyJ | January 11, 2006 at 2:44 pm
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?
dude! | January 11, 2006 at 2:45 pm
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.
Mischief Managed | January 11, 2006 at 2:48 pm
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