Heath Ledger Refused to Present at Oscars After Bad ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Jokes
According to a new interview by his Brokeback Mountain costar, jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger wanted the film to be taken very seriously.
Apparently, Heath refused to entertain any tone-deaf jokes about the gay relationship central to the story.
In fact, Jake says that the Oscar-winner chose not to present at the 2007 Academy Awards due to a joke written into the ceremony’s opening monologue.
“I mean, I remember they wanted to do an opening for the Academy Awards that year that was sort of joking about it,” Jake told Another Man. “And Heath refused. I was sort of at the time, ‘Oh, okay…whatever.’ I’m always like, ‘It’s all in good fun.’ And Heath said, ‘It’s not a joke to me — I don’t want to make any jokes about it.’”
He continued, “That’s the thing I loved about Heath. He would never joke. Someone wanted to make a joke about the story or whatever, he was like, ‘No. This is about love. Like, that’s it, man. Like, no.’”
Sadly, Heath passed away in January 2008 from an accidental overdose of oxycodone, diazepam, hydrocodone, and doxylamine. He was 28.
We love you, Heath.