Jim Carrey apologizes for tweeting autistic teen's photo
Actor and comedian Jim Carrey is apologizing for a tweet that caused an uproar on social media.
Carrey, who has more than 14 million Twitter followers, posted a series of tweets earlier this week objecting to a newly-passed law in California that will require virtually all families to get their children vaccinated. In one tweet, he posted a photo of a 14-year-old autistic boy, Alex Echols, to suggest that chemicals in vaccines may cause harm to children -- a claim scientists say has been disproven by decades of research. The boy's family vehemently objected and said his photo was used without their permission.
Echols' mother demanded that the photo be taken down and filed a copyright complaint with Twitter. The photo was removed from the site.
On Thursday night, Carrey tweeted that he was sorry for using it. "I'd like to apologize to the Echols family and others for posting a pic of their kids w/o permission," he wrote. "I didn't mean to cause them distress."
The Echols family says Alex was diagnosed with a genetic condition called Tuberous Sclerosis when he was six weeks old -- long before he was ever vaccinated -- and has a history of autism, seizures, and self-injurious behaviors. They tell his story on alexneedshelp.com, a website his family set up to advocate for the use of medical marijuana, which they say has been effective at helping to manage his condition.
In an Instagram post, Alex's aunt, Elizabeth Welch, wrote, "I'm very disgusted and sickened that a celebrity would use a photo like this that was used in the first place to spread awareness of Tuberous Sclerosis to mock him and and my sister for vaccinations. Even if that was not his intended outcome, it is what happened."