Brett Ratner Quits as Oscar Show Producer

Controversial director said to be resigning from prestigious gig after being blasted for gay slur and sex talk on radio show

Brett Ratner is calling it quits.

In a stunning turn of events, the controversial director has resigned from producing the Academy Awards telecast...

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

Ratner came under fire from GLAAD this week for using a gay slur during a Tower Heist Q&A over the weekend. He's also been blasted for a sexually crass chat he had during an appearance yesterday on Howard Stern's radio show. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report Ratner's resignation.

It's still unclear if Eddie Murphy will stay on as host. His rep didn't not immediately comment for this story.

In an open letter to Hollywood, Ratner once again apologized for his actions.

"So many artists and craftspeople in our business are members of the LGBT community, and it pains me deeply that I may have hurt them. I should have known this all along, but at least I know it now: words do matter," he wrote, in part. "Having love in your heart doesn't count for much if what comes out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted. With this in mind, and to all those who understandably feel that apologies are not enough, please know that I will be taking real action over the coming weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I've so foolishly perpetuated."

He also said that he resigned this morning. He wrote, "[A]s painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents."

GLAAD applauded Ratner's decision. "When we sat down with Brett today, he seemed very sincere in his desire to use this experience as a way to begin speaking out against anti-gay language in popular culture," said Herndon Graddick, the media watchdog group's Senior Director of Programs and Communications. "We believe this resignation is just the first step and will be announcing a series of concrete actions in coming days and weeks with Brett."