Joseph Gordon-Levitt Slams GQ for “Irresponsible” Handling of Brother’s Death

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

3:37 pm, July 17th, 2012

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt is upset with the way GQ treats his brother’s death in a new cover profile of The Dark Knight Rises star.

In the article, the magazine describes the 2010 death of the actor’s older brother, Dan, as “an alleged drug overdose.”

On Tuesday, Gordon-Levitt posted a message to his own site claiming GQ had printed ”factually incorrect” and “irresponsible” allegations.

The actor explains that he doesn’t like discussing the death, but that GQ rehashed rumors spread by “a handful of gossip websites,” and he felt the need to speak up.

He says the GQ article “really made me feel terrible.”

Here’s Gordon-Levitt’s full post on the matter:

“First of all, I’d like to thank both of the Jims and everyone else at GQ for putting me on the cover of their magazine this month.  That kind of exposure is a huge help to all the work I love to do, and I’m deeply appreciative.

I’m writing this because I have a problem with what their article says about my brother.  I’ll be honest, it really made me feel terrible.  Here’s a quote:

‘…the elder Gordon-Levitt died of an alleged drug overdose in 2010.  “It was an accident” is all Joe will say about that.’

Using the word “alleged” technically allows the writer to say whatever she wants.  The “allegations” to which she must be referring were made by a handful of gossip websites.  They are factually incorrect according to the coroner’s office and the police department.  I don’t like publicly speaking about my brother’s death, but I’m making an exception to correct this irresponsible claim.

By the way, while I asked the writer not to dwell on how he died, I did say quite a bit about how he lived, and how much he means to me.  Dan was a brightly positive, genuinely caring, and brilliantly inspiring person, and I liked the idea of such a wide readership learning about him.  My parents and I are disappointed with what the article chose to focus on regarding this sensitive subject.”

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