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Three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White apologized on Tuesday to Special Olympians over his decision to post a picture of himself dressed up for Halloween as the character ‘Simple Jack’ from the 2008 movie ‘Tropic Thunder.’
‘Simple Jack’ was a character in the movie who was mentally challenged.
White, 32, faced social media backlash and posted his apology on Twitter. He called the selection a poor choice.
“It was a last minute decision,” he posted. “It was the wrong one. The Special Olympics were right to call me out on it. They do great work supporting so many tremendous athletes and I am sorry for being insensitive. Lesson learned.”
A spokesman for the Special Olympics told TMZ in a statement that the organization was disappointed that White would choose the outfit that “causes so much pain.”
White has since deleted the Instagram post, but not before The Huffington Post took a screenshot of the picture.
‘Simple Jack’ was a character in the movie ‘Tropic Thunder.’ Ben Stiller played a fading action star ‘Tugg Speedman,’ who made an attempt at a more serious role ‘Simple Jack,’ which was widely mocked in the film.
The Special Olympics, at the time, called for people to avoid the movie over the role, People reported.