Not the best move the snowboarder ever made…
Shaun White got the wrong kind of attention with his Halloween costume this year.
Over the weekend, the Olympian shared a Instagram pic of himself (above) dressed as Simple Jack, and folks are not happy.
Photos: Other Halloween Costumes NOT To Wear This Year
For those who’ve never seen the 2008 film Tropic Thunder, this was a character played by Ben Stiller‘s movie star character.
In the caustic satire film, the actor goes for what he thinks is Oscar bait and accidentally offends everyone with a cartoonish and gross portrayal of a mentally handicapped person.
So while the movie it’s from is making fun of tone deaf Hollywood stereotyping, wearing this costume by itself is kinda just being an example of it.
(Not to mention just looks like outright bullying to anyone who never even saw the movie! Eesh!)
Not only did tons of fans complain in the comment section, even the Special Olympics decried the move. Co-founder Soeren Palumbo released a statement saying:
“We are truly disappointed that Shaun White, an acclaimed Olympian, would choose this costume which is so offensive and causes so much pain. Disability is not a joke nor should it be a punchline. We hope that Shaun White and others learn that this just continues stigma, stereotypes and discrimination.”
Maybe next time run that “hilarious” idea you have by a couple friends and make sure you aren’t about to step in something a little less fresh than snow.
Shaun quickly deleted the post.
Something tells us he’d rather everyone forget about this misstep and focus on his better decisions…
View this post on Instagram
I still think this was my best Halloween costume? What is everyone going as this year !!???
A post shared by Shaun White (@shaunwhite) on
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