Roger Ebert 'Jackass' Tweet: Critic Apologizes For Bad Timing

It's only Tuesday, but it's already clear that this is not Roger Ebert's best week.

In response to the death of 'Jackass' star Ryan Dunn, Ebert tweeted a controversial message that had fans and friends in a rage.

The tweet in question read, "friends don't let jackasses drink and drive," referring pictures of Dunn drinking with friends that were posted a few hours before the accident. Blogger Perez Hilton wrote a post slamming Ebert and Dunn pal Bam Margera tweeted that, "I just lost my best friend, I have been crying hysterically for a full day and piece of shit roger ebert has the gall to put in his 2 cents"

Then, his Facebook page was temporarily taken down, allegedly because of his comments.

So, Ebert did the sensible thing and apologized, kind of.

From his Chicago Sun-Times blog:

"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."

He added that while he "was probably too quick to tweet", he stood by his message.

"I meant exactly what I wrote," he wrote. "I was implying that someone who drinks and drives is a jackass. Just as I was when I was drinking." Explaining his harsh views on the dangers of drinking, he tweeted a blog post from 2009 about his own battle with alcoholism.