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Roger Ebert’s Facebook Page Taken Down Amid Ryan Dunn Controversy

Truth rating: 10

10:23 am, June 21st, 2011

(GettyImages.com)

(GettyImages.com)

Facebook removed Roger Ebert‘s page after the famed film critic’s blunt assessment of Ryan Dunn‘s fatal car crash provoked intense and sometimes malicious comments.

Yesterday, after news spread that Dunn and his passenger, friend Zachary Hartwell, were killed when their Porsche 911 hurtled off the road in West Goshen Township, PA and burst into flames, Ebert tweeted, “Friends don’t let jackasses drink and drive.”

He added, “He drank, he drove, 2 people died.”

After social media attacks against Ebert picked up steam, Facebook decided to take down his page.

Ebert expressed his anger over its the decision.

“Facebook has removed my page in response, apparently, to malicious complaints from one or two jerks,” he tweeted this morning.

He slammed the site’s actions, writing, “Facebook! My page is harmless and an asset to you. Why did you remove it in response to anonymous jerks?”

“Makes you look bad.”

Facebook later restored Ebert’s page

What do you think?

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Karen-Kehler/1341557917 Karen Kehler

    awesome call

  • http://twitter.com/37ft2in CG

    Ebert was right. What’s FB’s problem?

  • Keri

    I think it’s BS to remove the page. He didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. Sure, his delivery could have been more thought out. I’m sure late night shows will be saying similar things. Will we be banning their shows for the jokes we know are going to pour in? I get how fans would have been upset by his delivery but there was no reason to take down his page. Again, he said nothing that wasn’t true.

  • Regina1180

    Roger Ebert has been around forever and is very well-respected. The Jackass guys are famous for shoving things in themselves. America, welcome to your decline. Ugh!!!!

  • mimi

    What happened to freedom of speech?

  • 123

    I hear all the anger and I understand… Ryan Dunn’s action was completely wrong in every way. But we have to be considerate towards their families and friends that are grieving… He did wrong but was loved by some people… imagine it was one of your family and people around you are say all these horrible things while you are feeling horrible already. It’s sad and a constant reminder to us that one bad decision changes a lot of people.

  • 123

    I hear all the anger and I understand… Ryan Dunn’s action was completely wrong in every way. But we have to be considerate towards their families and friends that are grieving… He did wrong but was loved by some people… imagine it was one of your family and people around you are say all these horrible things while you are feeling horrible already. It’s sad and a constant reminder to us that one bad decision changes a lot of people.

  • Barbie407

    I understand what Ryan did was completely idiotic and wrong, but he was an honestly good guy. I don’t understand how people can be so heartless, especially towards someone who lost their life tragically. All of his family, friends, fans are grieving and people can’t respect that?! What has this world come to? Yeah, Robert Edbert is right, but that doesn’t give him the right to make insensitive comments about a human being dying, especially the same day he fucking died.

  • Barbie407

    I understand what Ryan did was completely idiotic and wrong, but he was an honestly good guy. I don’t understand how people can be so heartless, especially towards someone who lost their life tragically. All of his family, friends, fans are grieving and people can’t respect that?! What has this world come to? Yeah, Robert Edbert is right, but that doesn’t give him the right to make insensitive comments about a human being dying, especially the same day he fucking died.

  • Itissadbut

    Ebert was right. I’ve always liked Dunn the most out of all the jackass guys but he was drinking before he killed himself and his friend. His friends at the bar should not have let that happen. May they RIP!

  • Itissadbut

    Ebert was right. I’ve always liked Dunn the most out of all the jackass guys but he was drinking before he killed himself and his friend. His friends at the bar should not have let that happen. May they RIP!

  • Dianed

    It’s ridiculous that someone can be censored for speaking simple common sense. Shame on you Facebook!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RSLEVQBMJKCHPALYRG4FM2LFPQ Chuck

    I don’t know if it was ‘jerls’ who complained about Ebert. But Ebert is absolutely a jerk. Not necessarily for this incident, but for past actions and caustic words.

  • http://www.facebook.com/laquitathodge Laquita T. Hodge

    I do agree with what Roger Ebert said, but I believe he could have waited or said it in a nicer way. He’s not the only one who made a comment about drunk driving after hearing about Ryan Dunn’s death, multiple people said things along that line.
    While I do feel sorry for their family & friends, this could have been avoided. He may have been a good guy, but should have had the common sense not to drive after he drank.
    May him and his friend rest in peace. Everyone will be in my prayers.

  • http://www.facebook.com/laquitathodge Laquita T. Hodge

    I do agree with what Roger Ebert said, but I believe he could have waited or said it in a nicer way. He’s not the only one who made a comment about drunk driving after hearing about Ryan Dunn’s death, multiple people said things along that line.
    While I do feel sorry for their family & friends, this could have been avoided. He may have been a good guy, but should have had the common sense not to drive after he drank.
    May him and his friend rest in peace. Everyone will be in my prayers.

  • http://www.facebook.com/laquitathodge Laquita T. Hodge

    I do agree with what Roger Ebert said, but I believe he could have waited or said it in a nicer way. He’s not the only one who made a comment about drunk driving after hearing about Ryan Dunn’s death, multiple people said things along that line.
    While I do feel sorry for their family & friends, this could have been avoided. He may have been a good guy, but should have had the common sense not to drive after he drank.
    May him and his friend rest in peace. Everyone will be in my prayers.

  • http://www.facebook.com/laquitathodge Laquita T. Hodge

    I do agree with what Roger Ebert said, but I believe he could have waited or said it in a nicer way. He’s not the only one who made a comment about drunk driving after hearing about Ryan Dunn’s death, multiple people said things along that line.
    While I do feel sorry for their family & friends, this could have been avoided. He may have been a good guy, but should have had the common sense not to drive after he drank.
    May him and his friend rest in peace. Everyone will be in my prayers.

  • Mannabyrd

    Truth hurts doesn’t it? I’m sorry that Facebook removes this kind of stuff. I have to ask, did they remove any of the pages from the teens who bullied other teens who committed suicide because of the on-line bullying? I sure hope so because that is way worse than Ebert speaking the truth. It seems like a biased situation to me. I agree with the comment about what happened to freedom of speech? This country is so hypocritical it disgusts me.

  • Facebook Wrong

    Idiot…drunk jackass (by his own admission) has now killed 2 people. How can you defend that. Great guy, yea and because of his bad judgement two people are dead!

  • Anonymous

    do he be the pastor that blessed the dead idol boy kc. he look like he praying in this pitcher. it way bad he kill heslve on his porch

  • http://societyfordaintydamsels.wordpress.com Fennel

    To me, Roger Ebert could of tweeted more sensitively. However factually what he said was correct. I mean that’s why there are drunk driving laws in the 1st place. Not just to give drivers a hard time. A woman friend I know was killed by a drunk driver. My deepest sympathies to the families of Ryan Dunn and his friend.
    re: Facebook. Censorship!!!

  • WiseUp

    FB was wrong to take down Ebert’s page. He has a right to his opinion, and he was right. Photos show Ryan drinking, at least 3 beers and 3 shots, enough to make him legally drunk. He got behind the wheel and the result is two deaths. His family should feel horrible, they didn’t have more influence on him or teach him that it’s wrong to drink and drive. Why should everyone ignore the obvious? Ryan was irresponsible and paid the consequences. I feel sorry for his friend who was dumb enough to get in the car with him. Wake up and realize drunk driving is wrong.

  • Sage

    Do drunk drivers who kill innocent people really deserve sensitivity? How many people have to die before the focus is on the criminal? Drunk driving laws need to be even more strict. Drunks need rehab and jail time, not a slap on the wrists. The alcohol industry owns this country.

  • Delight

    You don’t know whether he was drunk driving or what. It has not been thoroughly investigated. Then you can’t depend on the media for an accurate story.

  • Sage

    I’m not depending on the media, Ryan tweeted pics of himself drinking with his friends in that bar last night, two hours before the accident. And there’s a new video today of him chugging an entire fifth of tequlia. He abused alcohol, that much is plain, I don’t need the media to tell me that. Use your head. They left the bar, drove too fast and hit a tree. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know he was drunk driving.

  • Delight

    The investigated reports have not come in yet. It takes 4 to 6 weeks. You don’t know whether he tweeted the pics are not. I know for sure he didn’t take it and he looked as if he wasn’t even aware his pic was taken. at the time it was taken.It’s not about rocky science, it’s about having all the investigated reports in.

  • http://twitter.com/FamousZee MissZee

    look…the guy hasn’t even been dead 3 days or so and people already are causing problems…shame on everybody

  • Sage

    What difference does it make if Ryan knew the photo in the bar was being taken or not? He was there, he was drinking, he left the bar, drove too fast and hit a tree. None of that is really in dispute, is it? Other people saw him there. Do we really need to wait six weeks for a test result? Are you going to try to say he wasn’t drunk? Then he was just driving crazy fast after coming out of a bar for fun? That makes it so much better, right?

  • Delight

    I am saying the investigated reports have not come in . The families don’t need all the hate that is going around. If there is any hate, it should be them and they seemed to have not gotten over being shocked from the accident yet. Have respect and regard for them is all I am saying.The fact is that he and his friend got killed and no one else. So why the hate? What’s done is done.

  • http://www.speakeasylive.net Speakeasy Live

    Roger is entitled to his opinion. Sure he looks like a jerk but Facebook looked like the bigger jerk in this case. Furthermore, I fail to understand the Jackass appeal. I’m assuming it’s a generational thing because I’m of a certain age, and I felt nothing when the the news of the crash passed me by. I was more interested in how mangled the car was. My friend on the other hand who is several years younger has been talking about it quite a bit, how famous Ryan was and all that. I bet who ever at Facebook that made the call to arbitrarily delete the page was a fan of the jackasses and therefore in their 20′s or early 30′s. I’m just guessing. Weird how my brain works.

    How old is Mark Zuckerberg?

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