Resurfaced Clip Of Heath Ledger Condemning Homophobic 'Brokeback Mountain' Hate Goes Viral

The late actor minced no words in condemning the backlash at a time when portraying gay characters was viewed as a potential career killer.

A resurfaced clip has fans mourning the late Heath Ledger all over again.

The Oscar-winning actor had no qualms about portraying a gay cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain,” but did have gripes with the 2005 drama becoming a punchline for homophobic jokes at the time — and openly said so during a 2006 press conference in Berlin.

With bigoted reactions to the film’s central relationship flooding the discourse, at a time when same-sex marriage had yet to be legalized in the U.S., Ledger was asked at the Berlinale International Film Festival what he would tell people “who suggest that this is disgusting.”

“Oh,” the actor, then 26, groaned at the time. “Well, I don’t know. I think it’s a real shame.”

“Well, I think it’s immature, for one,” Ledger continued. “Really immature. But I think it’s an incredible shame that people go out of their way to discuss or to voice their disgust, I should say. Or negative opinions about the way two people wish to love one another.”