Joseph Gordon-Levitt ‘Disappointed’ With His GQ Cover Story (Updated)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on the cover of this month’s GQ, but “The Dark Knight Rises” star is taking issue with how the story mentions the 2010 death of his brother, Dan Gordon-Levitt.

“I’m writing this because I have a problem with what their article says about my brother. I’ll be honest, it really made me feel terrible,” the actor wrote in a post on his Tumblr page.

The actor brings up the mag’s quote, “The elder Gordon-Levitt died of an alleged drug overdose in 2010. ‘It was an accident’ is all Joe will say about that,” saying their facts and wording are wrong.

“Using the word ‘alleged’ technically allows the writer to say whatever she wants. 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.

I don’t like publicly speaking about my brother’s death, but I’m making an exception to correct this irresponsible claim,” the star continues in his post.

Adding, “While I asked the writer not to dwell on how he died, I did say quite a bit about how he lived, and how much he means to me. Dan was a brightly positive, genuinely caring, and brilliantly inspiring person, and I liked the idea of such a wide readership learning about him. My parents and I are disappointed with what the article chose to focus on regarding this sensitive subject.”

Dan’s official cause of death has not been released. He was known as “Burning Dan” for his involvement with the annual Burning Man festival and love of fire-spinning.

In 2010, Joseph Tweeted about his brother’s death calling him “my super hero brother” and that he “brightly embodied that bold beastly bliss sometimes referred to as ‘the creative spirit’… and continues to inspire us ever the more.”

On Wednesday evening, GQ responded to Gordon-Levitt’s comments by issuing a statement.

“This week, after GQ’s August profile of Joseph Gordon-Levitt hit newsstands, the actor took to his Tumblr page to challenge the accuracy of the magazine’s description of the death of his older brother, Dan, on October 4, 2010.

“Because the writer, Amy Wallace, and her editors understood the pain Dan’s passing caused the Gordon-Levitt family, the story sought to be respectful — and brief — in the way it described his death, which GQ felt was a relevant fact in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s biography. The story stated that Dan, 36, who was close to his brother and often collaborated with him, “died of an alleged drug overdose in 2010. ‘It was an accident’ is all Joe will say about that.’ “

“The magazine stands by its reporting, the facts of which are fully supported — and have been confirmed in detail — by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.”

— Jesse Spero