I let this one go but I am surprised by how much it has been bothering me over the last few days. Ryan Dunn one of the stars of Jack Ass as we all know recently passed away and regardless of whether you liked him, loved him or considered him a ‘jackass’ you cannot help but think of his family and the tragedy of a life lost to young.
When Ryan Dunn died there was little known other then he had been drinking at a bar according to friends and his Porsche was in an accident which resulted in his death and his passengers. Roger Ebert a film critic whom I assume needs no introduction shortly after the death of Ryan Dunn took to his Twitter page to mock the 34 year olds death writing;
Considering that Ebert has had his own serious health scares and I am sure has faced his own mortality more so then any of us I would think he would have more sensitivity but more importantly I question what drove a respected film critic to turn to his twitter followers and make such an incredibly insensitive statement. At the time there was no information on the accident or what caused it other then ‘speed was probably a factor’ and to turn to Twitter to make such a callous statement to me seemed extremely odd. What was his motive?
Ryan Dunn as seen in Jackass The Movie, 1977 – 2011, RIP
Ryan Dunn’s death was a tragedy and unfortunately it seems one that could have been avoided according to ABC News who are reporting that Dunn was over the legal limit and driving far to fast. The death of Ryan Dunn and his passenger should be an eye opening moment for everyone and something we all keep in mind but I still wonder am I alone in thinking that the Ebert’s statements were uncalled for. Ebert is right, drinking and driving is foolish and perhaps some of you agree with his twitter statement but to me it was the context and the timing that make it in incredibly bad taste and shows a complete lack of class.
My heart goes out to Ryan Dunn’s family and parents and those of the cars passenger may they rest in peace.
