Rapper/actor 50 Cent might not want to write a song about his most recent incident. (And for the sake of not having to repeatedly call him 50 Cent he will be referred to by his real name, Curtis Jackson III.)
Jackson filmed himself in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport accosting a young man who Jackson thought was high while working.
Hey, where did this pot and kettle come from?
Apparently, the purpose of Jackson’s video was to show how lazy and unmotivated the youth in the U.S. are today.
“The new generation is crazy,” said Jackson in the video.
While that might be true to a degree, there was one problem with Jackson’s choice of victim: the young man is autistic.
An airport custodian and recent high school graduate, 19-year-old Andrew Farrell tried to ignore Jackson throughout the entire video. The poor kid was probably scared.
According to Cincinnati.com, an Instagram user saw the video and identified Farrell:
I went to school with him. He has extreme social difficulties just to let you know. He has a hard enough time getting through life without jackasses like you making fun of him. I hope you feel good about yourself. You just lost a huge fan.
Jackson has since apologized to the Farrell family in a statement saying, “While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, please accept my sincere apologies for offending you. It was certainly not my intent to insult you and I wish you and your family well.”
The Farrell family, while still upset, has chosen to accept the apology. Here is their statement:
We would first like to thank everyone for the amazing amount of support that they have shown over the past few days. It has been an emotional roller coaster that we are ready to put to rest. As requested we have received a letter apologizing for 50 cent’s behavior and we have chosen to accept it, along with a request that a donation be made to Autism Speaks. Though a letter of apology will not undo what 50 cent has put our family through, we are choosing to forgive. A great lesson can be learned from this heartbreaking situation. Regardless of the way that another person appears to you, it is never okay to publicly humiliate them via social media. We hope that this situation brings more awareness to what people with autism and other forms of social anxiety suffer through on a daily basis. Again, we thank the growing number of supporters who have shown both love and acceptance during this difficult time.
Signed, Andrew and the Farrell/Kramer Family
Jackson has put himself in hot water before with the autistic community. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jackson got in a Twitter war in 2012 with an autistic fan, in which he said: "Just saw your picture fool, you look autistic….I don’t want no special ed kids on my time line, follow somebody else.”
While anyone who believes in the First Amendment can appreciate Jackson’s right to free speech, some things are just better left unsaid.
To view Jackson's video, watch below (Warning: Contains Strong Language):