Brett Ratner 'apologises for gay slur'

Brett Ratner has apologised for his recent gay slur.

The Tower Heist director was participating in a question and answer session at a screening of his latest film last Friday (November 4) when an audience member asked what rehearsals were like for the movie.

"Rehearsal? What's that? Rehearsal's for f*gs," Ratner responded. "Rehearsal. Not much. A lot of prep, preparation, complex action sequences, visual effects."

Media monitoring organisation GLAAD immediately demanded an apology from the director, condemning Ratner's language in a blog post.

"This language is completely unacceptable, and for a well-known director like Ratner to use it so cavalierly a manner in a public setting sends a dangerous message that slurs like this are okay to use," read the post.

Ratner released a statement on Monday (November 7) in which he said: "I apologise for any offence my remarks caused.

"It was a dumb and outdated way of expressing myself. Everyone who knows me knows that I don't have a prejudiced bone in my body."

Ratner added: "As a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words."

GLAAD said the apology was acceptable, but insisted that the director needs to make more of an effort to atone for his language.

"This apology is a good start, but we're working with Ratner's people for more action, to clearly send a message to Hollywood that the anti-gay slurs used by bullies and bigots have no place in the world of entertainment, or anywhere else," the organisation wrote in a statement.

Ratner will produce the next Oscars telecast, which will feature Eddie Murphy as the show's host.

Last month, the director insisted he is not nervous about the 84th Academy Awards in 2012, admitting that he was relieved to learn that Murphy had been selected to host the show.