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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.
“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.