Why Is Joseph Gordon-Levitt Mad at GQ? (Hint: It's Personal)

Thesp calls out the magazine for allegedly misreporting how his brother died

By Josh Grossberg Jul 17, 2012 9:30 PMTags
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After freely blasting his younger self as "a hopeless ivory tower douchebag" in the latest issue of GQ, Joseph Gordon-Levitt now has another target: the magazine itself.

The Dark Knight Rises star took to his Website today to blast GQ for printing what he said was erroneous information regarding the October 2010 death of his older brother, Dan, otherwise known as "Burning Dan" for his fire-spinning artistry and involvement with Burning Man.

"I'm writing this because I have a problem with what their article says about my brother," Gordon-Levitt wrote on his Tumblr page, though not before thanking the editors for putting him on the cover. "I'll be honest, it really made me feel terrible."

What upset the 31-year-old thespian so much was a line in the story in which the reporter wrote, "the elder Gordon-Levitt died of an alleged drug overdose in 2010. 'It was an accident' is all Joe will say about that.'"

Gordon-Levitt however took issue with the writer's use of the word "alleged" to suggest drugs played a role in Dan's passing at the age of 36.

"The 'allegations' to which she must be referring were made by a handful of gossip websites. They are factually incorrect according to the coroner's office and the police department," he noted. "I don't like publicly speaking about my brother's death, but I'm making an exception to correct this irresponsible claim."

Dan's official cause of death has not been released.

The Los Angeles Coroner's Office has yet to comment after E! News sent an email seeking clarification, and an LAPD spokesman referred our inquiry to the coroner's office.

Gordon-Levitt meanwhile added that it would've been nicer if the magazine chose to quote the 50/50 man discussing all the good his late bro brought to the world.

"Dan was a brightly positive, genuinely caring and brilliantly inspiring person, and I liked the idea of such a wide readership learning about him," wrote Joe. "My parents and I are disappointed with what the article chose to focus on regarding this sensitive subject."

We're glad to see him get the word out.

Gordon-Levitt, of course, next takes on something of a mystery role when The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters everywhere July 20. He's also playing Bruce Willis' younger self in Rian Johnson's time-travel thriller, Looper, due out Sept. 28.