So what was the slur?
Ratner was asked about rehearsals (for the film “Tower Heist,” featuring Murphy among others), and he joked dismissively, “Rehearsals?! Rehearsals are for f*gs.”
He obviously did not mean homosexuals. He meant “for the weak.”
I grant you, it was not something I would say these days. If I wanted to be a bit profane without being PC, I might have said, “Rehearsals are for p*ssies” or “wimps.”
I should add (to my first reply) that Ratner’s entire RESPONSE was a joke, in the sense that OF COURSE the “Tower Heist” cast and crew DID perform rehearsals. It’s a major (budget) motion picture with a couple of over-$10M actors done in NYC with a union crew. They’re not going to “wing it.”
All this just to underscore what an overreaction the Oscars made in forcing Ratner out instead of simply asking for a nice apology.