The writers behind Jennifer Aniston's new comedy Horrible Bosses have defended their decision to use a gay slur in the script, insisting the insult serves to highlight how nasty the actress' character really is.
The former Friends star sheds her clean-cut image to play sex-crazed bad girl dentist Julia, who harasses Charlie Day's character and becomes one of three monster managers whose employees plot to murder.
Aniston's character proves to be particularly nasty by telling her assistant, "You're starting to sound like a little f**got..."
The writers accept the use of the term will cause outrage amongst the gay community, but co-writer Jonathan Goldstein is adamant the term was used to underline how horrible Aniston's character is.
He tells the Daily Beast, "It's indefensible. I think part of the challenge is to, in a fairly short amount of time, get these guys (the employee characters) to a place where an audience can empathise (with the murder plot)...To shorthand that, we tried to think: 'What are the most offensive things they can say?' Using a word like that I think is one of them. It says this woman is irredeemable."
Co-writer John Francis Daley adds, "She is a horrible person, so I think when it is coming out of her mouth, it is understandably offensive", while Goldstein adds of Aniston, "She wanted to dive into this villain with both feet, and she did."