Olympian Shaun White in Trouble Over Insensitive Halloween Costume

Olympic snowboarder Shaun White is in hot water after wearing an incredibly offensive Halloween costume.

The 32-year-old snowboarder dressed up as Simple Jack, a special needs character from the movie "Tropic Thunder".

In the 2008 movie, the character (played by Ben Stiller's actor character Tugg Speedman) was created to serve as an over the top example of Hollywood using the stories of disabled people to rack up Oscar buzz.

Ten years ago the move made caused some controversy, and today is obviously no exception.

One of the biggest critics of White's costume was the Special Olympics:

"We are truly disappointed that Shaun White, an acclaimed Olympian, would choose this costume which is so offensive and causes so much pain," Soeren Palumbo, co-founder of Special Olympics' Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign, said in a statement. "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."

After some other not so kindly worded critiques, White did issue an apology via Twitter.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content