Holly Robinson Peete recently put rapper 50 Cent in his place after he tweeted a cruel slur about autism. Holly is the mother of a son with autism and is an outspoken advocate–went in on 50.
It started Monday night when a fan threatened to shoot 50 if he didn’t release his new album. 50 shot right back and tweeted:
“Yeah i just saw your picture fool you look autistic.” To make matters worse, he followed that with another one that read: “i dont want no special ed kids on my time line follow some body else.”
He went on to say that he didn’t want special ed folks following him, prompting Holly to pen an open letter to the rapper. The tweets have since been removed.
Dear 50 Cent,
Since last night my twitter timeline is flooded with tweets and retweets about a response you posted to someone who insulted you. When I read it my heart sank. I thought maybe your account had been hacked. No such luck. Granted, his comment was completely out of line but your retort: “i just saw your picture fool you look autistic”- was so so disappointing. I mean, that’s your comeback?? And you didn’t stop there. You went on to joke about not wanting “special ed kids” on your timeline. Seriously, THIS is how you use your platform of 8 million plus followers??
I’ve met you in passing over the years and I know you are a bright, astute businessman and legitimate philanthropist so it is with a bit of sincere confusion that I ask you… Do you even know what autism is? And what exactly does “autistic” look like? Do you know how wildly prevalent autism is? 1 in 88 have it. That’s 1 in 54 boys. Families suffer a social stigma you will never know. It is a financial and emotional drain for millions, so our non-profit- HollyRod Foundation works hard to raise funds to help these families cope…
I hope you can see how what you might see as a benign insult-or not- was so randomly hurtful, immature and misinformed. Maybe you are naive or indifferent as to how many of your fans might be deeply and personally offended by your insult. At the very least-can you please delete it? If you’ve read your mentions today I am sure you have felt the wrath of autism parents. We are no joke. Neither is autism. We are not about to let you attempt to make “autistic” the new “R-word” under our watch.
Finally, this is my son Rodney Peete. He has autism. So I guess this is what autistic looks like? He is in special ed. He loves rap music and is a HUGE fan of yours. He’s a tremendous kid. He has to deal with so much trying to fit in. This isn’t helping.
Sincerely,
Holly Robinson Peete
What do you think of 50 comments?
LIKE HelloBeautiful On Facebook To Keep Up With Your Fave Black Celebs!
READ MORE ABOUT HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE BELOW:
Holly Robinson Peete Speaks On Autism
Holly Robinson Peete: “I Landed In A Good Part Of The Quote”
