"Tower Heist" director Brett Ratner was ousted as producer of the Oscars over a controversial remark he made at a Friday Q&A session for the movie, where he said, "Rehearsal is for fags," reports the New York Post’s Page Six.

The same day, Ratner went on Howard Stern’s Sirius XM show and got into a crass discussion of sex, telling listeners that he sends women he sleeps with to his doctor to get checked for diseases, the story says. Rubenstein PR, his publicists, said it is no longer working with him, the piece adds.

According to The New York Times, Ratner said he resigned after speaking with Tom Sherak, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

It was unclear whether Ratner’s departure would affect Eddie Murphy’s plan to host the telecast, which will air on ABC on Feb. 26, the Times story adds. Murphy is a co-star of Ratner’s "Tower Heist." Sherak declined to comment on what the academy’s next step would be, the piece notes.