Ryan Dunn - First "Jackass" Fatality

Here is a video of the late "Jackass" star, Ryan Dunn, chugging a bottle of tequila in front of a live audience. Dunn died this morning in a terrible car accident where he lost control driving his Porsche, hit a couple of trees, where his car consequently lit up in flames. The other passenger also died. Just a few hours before the accident, he had posted a picture of him and his buddies having drinks at a bar. It's not too difficult to connect the dots here.

Dunn was one of the stars of "Jackass", an MTV show that centered around a couple of guys doing extremely stupid and outrageous stunts. He was best known for shoving a "toy car up his rectum", as quoted in an obituary found online.

Celebrities have not kept quiet about this. Most of them are sympathetic, and are sending prayers. But some, like film critic Roger Ebert, are using this incident to bring light to a broader issue; drunk driving. Ebert wrote on his Twitter account, "Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive."

Others think its too soon for those kind of comments, primarily celeb blogger Perez Hilton. He dedicated a post to Ebert's Tweet, "We think there's no reason that anyone should be pointing fingers or poking fun at a truly tragic situation. Everyone makes mistakes, and this is somebody's son. Too soon, Roger."

Perez's fans don't think so. One responded with, "Totally true statement, I don't see anything wrong with it." Another writes, "It wasn't just Ryan who died, the dude actually killed someone, so stupid!"

There is actually a rumor going around cyberspace saying that his death is a prank for an upcoming movie. If it's true, that would be a sick and disgusting antic, but would anyone be surprised coming from the Jackass star? People have been saying on Twitter, "RIP, you were my hero!".......really? A guy who consciously hurts himself and others has become a model for living? Again, the standards of this society should be questioned.

So what it boils down to is an issue of respect. This guy was someone's friend, son, brother, cousin, and he died in a violent accident at the age of 34. But he also drank an entire bottle of Tequila for entertainment, rolled down rooftops, and jumped in front of cars.

Did he have it coming?
What do you think?