Jim Carrey Apologizes for Tweeting Photo of Autistic Boy in Anti-Vaccination Rant

Jim Carrey Apologizes Tweeting Photo of — Jim Carrey - H 2015
AP Images/Invision

Jim Carrey apologized Thursday night for posting a photo of an autistic boy without permission in his anti-vaccination Twitter rant.

Carrey used the picture as part of a series of tweets he posted against a California law that removes personal-belief exemptions for child immunizations. The picture has been removed, but according to a post by the boy’s aunt, the tweet read: “A trillion dollars buys a lot of expert opinions. Will it buy you? TOXIN FREE VACCINES, A REASONABLE REQUEST!”

Karen Echols, the mother of the boy in the photo, tweeted to Carrey, telling him to remove the photo, and Carrey later apologized.

@JimCarrey Please remove this photo of my son. You do not have permission to use his image.

— Karen Echols (@karen_echols) July 2, 2015

I’d like to apologize to the Echols family and others for posting a pic of their kids w/o permission.I didn’t mean to cause them distress.

— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) July 3, 2015

@JimCarrey we appreciate the apology. If you feel so inclined, a shout out for tuberous sclerosis awareness would be awesome! #IAMTSC

— Karen Echols (@karen_echols) July 3, 2015

The boy’s aunt posted a screenshot of Carrey’s tweet in an effort to persuade him to remove the tweet. She stated in the post that her nephew, who she says is named Alex Echols, was diagnosed with autism before he was vaccinated. She considered Carrey’s tweet to be a mockery of Alex.

Share this one please: Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram friends, I need your help. Jim Carrey (yes that one) tweeted out an image of my nephew who suffers from Autism and tuberous sclerosis as an example of anti-vaccinations. Alex had these conditions before he was ever vaccinated. 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. Please spread this, and let’s try to get this tweet removed. #vaccines #california #californialaw #californiavaccinationlaw #jimcarey #vaccination #vaccinations #privacy #privacyrights #factcheck

A photo posted by Elizabeth Welch (@scewelch) on Jul 1, 2015 at 2:17pm PDT

Carrey isn’t the only celebrity with strong anti-vaccination thoughts. His former girlfriend Jenny McCarthy, along with Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen, also shares similar views about autism’s link to vaccinations.