Ben Stiller stands by Shaun White over Tropic Thunder Simple Jack Halloween Costume

Olympian Shaun White has been criticized by the Special Olympics and on social media, over his Halloween costume of Simple Jack, an intellectually-disabled character Stiller played – who was referred to by the r-word – in the 2008 film Tropic Thunder.

https://twitter.com/D_curtis30/status/1057642019567341568

After a social media user sarcastically suggested a boycott of the film, the 52-year-old actor took to Twitter on Tuesday to remind everyone of the controversy the film generated a decade back.

Actually Tropic Thunder was boycotted 10 years ago when it came out, and I apologized then,’ Stiller wrote on Twitter. ‘It was always meant to make fun of actors trying to do anything to win awards.’

Actually Tropic Thunder was boycotted 10 years ago when it came out, and I apologized then. It was always meant to make fun of actors trying to do anything to win awards. I stand by my apology, the movie, Shaun White, And the great people and work of the @SpecialOlympics. https://t.co/RqID5jIXP1

— Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen) October 30, 2018

The backlash included a Rally for Respect conducted by disability groups, ultimately leading to a meeting between the groups and DreamWorks executives to smooth over tensions.

Everyone needs to chill out, It was a costume he was wearing on Halloween based off a fictional character from a satirical movie.

If you’re offended, you need to relax.