Joseph Gordon-Levitt criticized GQ Magazine for saying in a cover story that the brother of the "The Dark Knight Rises" star died of "an alleged drug overdose."
"A photographer and fire spinner who went by the moniker Burning Dan, the elder Gordon-Levitt died of an alleged drug overdose in 2010," author Amy Wallace wrote. "'It was an accident' is all Joe will say about that."
But Gordon-Levitt took issue with the characterization of his older brother's death in a posting on his Tumblr account Tuesday.
"Using the word 'alleged' technically allows the writer to say whatever she wants," Gordon-Levitt writes. "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."
Also read: Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Brother, 'Burning Dan,' Dies
Wallace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although Gordon-Levitt thanked the magazine for putting him on its cover, he said the reporting about his brother's death made him feel "terrible." It was not, the actor said, the way that he had presented his relationship with his late sibling to Wallace.
"By the way, 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," Gordon-Levitt writes. "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."
In addition to his photography and fire-spinning, Dan Gordon-Levitt partnered with his brother on the multimedia website HitRECord.org, a community where artists and filmmakers to post their work and are connected with potential commercial productions.