Lewis drops slur during telethon
NEW YORK -- Jerry Lewis dropped an anti-gay slur -- the same one that got Isaiah Washington of "Grey's Anatomy" in trouble -- during the 18th hour of his annual Labor Day telethon.
The 81-year-old showman -- prowling about the stage during the live telecast Monday in Las Vegas -- was goofing around and dodging his cameraman, then went into a ramble about imaginary family members.
"You remember Bart, your older son," he said, and motioning toward another unseen character, "Jesse, the illiterate faggot."
Neil Giuliano, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation president, called Lewis' use of the term "simply unacceptable."
In a statement Tuesday, Lewis said he was making "a joking comment to a member of my production team."
"I apologize to anyone who was offended," he went on. "Everyone who knows me understands that I hold no prejudices in this regard. In the family atmosphere of the telethon, I forget that not everyone knows me that well."
