While some mourned over “Jackass” star Ryan Dunn’s death, Roger Ebert posted his thoughts on what has become the more common form of expression these days: social networks.
“Friends don’t let jackasses drink and drive,” Ebert said via Twitter, a tweet that would open the doors to social networking drama.
Shortly after the tweet was posted, members of Facebook and Twitter took it upon themselves to let Ebert know exactly how they felt. The comments posted on the social networking sites ranged from abuse to praise. As a result of the high traffic of harsh comments on Ebert’s Facebook and the countless reports of vulgarity to Facebook headquarters, Ebert’s page was taken down for a brief period of time.
Dunn, one of the stars of MTV’s “Jackass,” died in a car crash Monday at age 34. His time on both the “Jackass” show and movies was a happy time filled with all the practical, and impractical, jokes and pranks you can imagine. Dunn lived a life that was full of fun. Dunn’s passenger, who also died, was identified Tuesday as Zachary Hartwell, a friend and stunt man on the “Jackass” films.
Dunn’s close friends and co-stars, including Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O, released statements shortly after the news broke, but long-time friend Bam Margera was silent until Ebert’s tweet. Margera broke his silence by responding to Ebert in a not-completely-coherent tweet defending his late friend and trashing Ebert.
“I just lost my best friend, I have been crying hysterical for a full day and piece of shit Roger Ebert has the gall to put in his 2 cents…about a jackass drunk driving and his is one, **** you! Millions of people are crying right now, shut your fat ******* mouth!” Margera said in a tweet response to Ebert.
Ebert responded to Margera’s tweet on his Chicago Sun Times blog Tuesday,“To begin with, I offer my sympathy to Ryan Dunn’s family and friends, and to those of Zachary Hartwell, who also died in the crash. I mean that sincerely. It is tragic to lose a loved one. I also regret that my tweet about the event was considered cruel. It was not intended as cruel. It was intended as true.” The full blog post can be seen online.
Many people were quick to assume that Dunn was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash due to a picture he posted on Tumbler of himself drinking at a bar. However, an autopsy hasn’t been completed and a DUI hasn’t been confirmed as the cause in the initial accident report. According to the NBC News website, the cause of the accident is still being determined.
Although Dunn had the reputation of a notorious partier, there’s no need to add insult to injury and further the pain of Dunn’s death with speculation based on the fact that he was seen drinking prior to the accident.
Because Dunn frequented the limelight, his death had an impact on people that he never met, especially “Jackass” fans.
We live in a viral world which gives everyone an opportunity to speak their peace or poison about all types of situations.
What Ebert initially tweeted was hurtful primarily because it was said entirely too soon after Dunn’s death. However, the same can be said about those who responded to Ebert, Margera included, with words just as hurtful, if not more.
The tweeting and blogging about the ‘he said, she said’ arguments only demoralizes Dunn’s death. The laughter he inspired when he was alive should be celebrated and his family and friends should be consoled.