Breaking News Emails
Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Oct. 30, 2018 / 2:02 AM GMT
By Tim Stelloh
Snowboarding superstar Shaun White apologized Monday after wearing a Halloween costume that sparked a backlash from the Special Olympics.
In a now-deleted post on White’s Instagram account, the professional snowboarder and skateboarder was shown dressed as “Simple Jack,” a disabled character featured in the 2008 film “Tropic Thunder” that triggered a boycott at the time and charges that it promoted “derogatory and demeaning” stereotypes.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
“I owe everyone in the Special Olympics community an apology for my poor choice of Halloween costume the other night,” White said. “It was a last minute decision. It was the wrong one. The Special Olympics were right to call me on it.”
“Lesson learned,” he added.
Earlier, the organization’s co-founder, Soeren Palumbo, told The Huffington Post in a statement that White had chosen a costume that “causes so much pain.”
“Disability is not a joke nor should it be a punchline,” Palumbo said. “We hope that Shaun White and others learn that this just continues stigma, stereotypes and discrimination.”
In a reply to White’s apology on Twitter, the Special Olympics thanked him for “listening to our community.”
“You always have an invitation to shred with our athletes at #XGames Aspen!” the reply said.