Ron Howard says 'gay' joke won't be removed from 'The Dilemma' movie, which stars Vince Vaughn

11/01/2010 by Corinne Heller

Ron Howard says his comedy film The Dilemma will not remove a line deemed by some as offensive to gay people and which was removed from the movie's trailer following criticism by CNN's Anderson Cooper and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation group.

In The Dilemma, set for release on Jan. 14, 2011, Vince Vaughn plays a man who is reluctant to tell his best friend and business partner, played by Kevin James, that his wife, portrayed by Winona Ryder, is cheating on him.

The Dilemma contains a scene in which Vaughn's character says, "Ladies and gentleman, electric cars are gay."

"I just find those words, those terms, we've got to do something to make those words unacceptable cause those words are hurting kids," Cooper had said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "I think we need to really focus on what language we're using and how we're treating these kids."

GLAAD had said: "Its hardly a joke for LGBT audiences growing increasingly frustrated by use of the word gay as a pejorative."

Universal Pictures later issued a new trailer that did not contain the controversial scene.

"I believe in sensitivity but not censorship," Howard told the Los Angeles Times. "I feel that our film is taking additional heat as an emblem for many movies and TV shows that preceded it that have even more provocative characterizations and language."

"I don't strip my films of everything that I might personally find inappropriate," he said. "Comedy or drama, I'm always trying to make choices that stir the audience in all kinds of ways. This Ronny Valentine character can be offensive and inappropriate at times and those traits are fundamental to his personality and the way our story works."

Howard also said the line was scripted, adding: "Vince is a brilliant improvisational actor, but in this case It was always in the script."

Check out the new trailer for The Dilemma below.