Olympic gold medal winner Shaun White has been forced to apologise after wearing a tasteless 'Simple Jack' costume for a Halloween party.
The 32-year-old snowboarder decided to dress as the character from the movie Tropic Thunder but was quickly criticised by parents of children with special needs and members of the Special Olympics.
White initially shared photos of his costume on his Instagram account, but has since removed them and issued an apology.
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He said: "I owe everyone in the Special Olympics community an apology for my poor choice of Halloween costume the other night.
"It was a last-minute decision. 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."
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A spokesperson from the Special Olympics told TMZ: "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."
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In response to his apology, the official Special Olympics' Twitter account replied to thank White, writing: "Thank you Shaun White for listening to our community. You always have an invitation to shred with our athletes at #XGames Aspen!"
Ben Stiller, who directed Tropic Thunder and played the character in the movie, also got involved; posting on Twitter to say that he had apologised 10 years ago when the film was released.
He added that he 'stands by his apology, the movie, Shaun White and the great people at the Special Olympics'.
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/PATopics: US News
