Roger Ebert is standing by the the controversial tweet he posted immediately after ‘Jackass’ star Ryan Dunn died in a car accident on June 20, 2011, Yahoo Movies is reporting. The film critic tweeted “Friends don’t let Jackasses drink and drive” after hearing of Dunn’s death.

After being criticized by several celebrities, including Perez Hilton and Dunn’s ‘Jackass’ co-stars, Ebert explained his controversial tweet on his Chicago Sun Times blog. While he admitted he regretted the timing of the tweet, and offered his sympathy to Dunn’s family and friends, he denied that his intention was to be cruel.

“It (the tweet) was intended as true. I meant exactly what I wrote. I wasn’t calling (Ryan) Dunn a jackass. In Twitter shorthand, I was referring to his associating with ‘Jackass.’ I thought that was clear,” Ebert also wrote on his blog.

While the film critic added that he doesn’t know the specifics of the accident, he added that “I do know that nobody has any business driving on a public highway at 110 mph…or fast enough to leave a highway and fly through 40 yards of trees before crashing.” Ebert also pointed to the fact that Dunn reportedly drank three shots and three beers before driving.

Bam Margera, one of Dunn’s ‘Jackass’ co-stars, tweeted in response to Ebert’s original tweet, saying “I just lost my best friend, I have been crying hysterically for a full day and…Ebert has the gall to put in his 2 cents.” However, Margera has yet to respond to the film critic’s latest blog entry.

Written by: Karen Benardello

Roger Ebert