50 Cent Apologizes for 'Insensitive' Tweets on Autism

Lionel Deluy

The rapper, who rarely apologizes for his often-offensive language in his music, has responded to the backlash on his Twitter after he told an angry fan he "dont want no special ed kids on [his] time line."

Rapper 50 Cent caused a Twitter uproar after he responded bitterly to an overeager fan on the social networking site, writing for his nearly 7 million followers, "yeah just saw your picture fool you look autistic." The fan had earlier jabbed at the rapper about his upcoming new record, "5 (Murder by Numbers)," "Release the album or get shot again."

But his comments were not overlooked, and several people were upset by his comments, including actress and autism activist Holly Robinson Peete, whose eldest son RJ was diagnosed with autism at age 3. Peete wrote an open letter to the rapper and included a picture of her now-13-year-old son, saying, "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."The rapper didn't stop there: "I don't want no special ed kids on my time line follow some body else," he wrote. 50 Cent released the album shortly afterward.

According to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 88 U.S. children has an autism spectrum disorder.

The rapper subsequently deleted the offending tweets on his timeline, and on Sunday, he took the extra step to issue an apology for his comments. "I realize my autism comments were insensitive, however it was not my intention to offend anyone and for this I apologize," 50 Cent wrote.

While the rapper rarely apologizes for his often politically incorrect opinions, lyrics and comments, 50 Cent has backpedaled before when he has tweeted before he thinks. Earlier this year, the rapper apologized to Interscope Records after he blamed them for leaking his song (it turned out to be a computer glitch, he said). And in March 2011, he issued a sort-of apology for tweeting jokes about the tsunami in Japan, which several deemed inappopriate. "Some of my tweets are ignorant I do it for shock value," he wrote afterward. "Hate it or love it. I'm cool either way."

The rapper had shocked many when he made light of the tragedy soon after the natural disaster story broke. In one, he tweeted, "Look this is very serious people I had to evacuate all my h**s from LA, Hawaii and Japan. I had to do it. Lol." In another, he mocked tsunami threat to the U.S. west coast, writing "Wave will hit 8am them crazy white boys gonna try to go surfing."

The Hollywood Reporter | by Jane Kellogg

50 Cent Scolded For "Autistic" And "Special Ed" Jokes

After making a joke about autistic and special ed kids, 50 Cent found himself in the middle of a crossfire with fans and celebrity mom Holly Robinson Peete. When a Twitter follower told the "In Da Club" rapper to "release the album [5] or get shot again," the hip hop star responded by writing, "yeah just saw your picture fool you look autistic."

50 Cent continued the offensive rant by following up with the tweet, "i dont want no special ed kids on my time line follow some body else," then trying to make light of the situation by posting, "just kidding about da special ed kids man, i was in special ed day said i had anger issues lol."

However, the 36-year-old's comments didn't sit well with "21 Jump Street" actress Holly Robinson Peete, who has an autistic child - as she decided to write the rapper an open letter released by Autism File magazine.

In the penning, Holly stated, "When I read (the tweet) it my heart sank. I thought maybe your account had been hacked. No such luck. 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??"

The 47-year-old actress - whose son, Rodney Jr, was diagnosed with autism when he was 3-years-old - added, '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?"

Offering a few facts for the rapper, the mother of four continued, "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… 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?"

Holly finished by writing, "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."

Before eventually deciding to delete the comments, 50 Cent sent out a couple tweets in response, including, "due to negative comments im not releasing music now listen to zero instead of 10 suckers LMAO," followed up by, "you think you dont care i really dont care im rich lol" and "its gonna be quiet tomorrow ain't gonna be no music blasting tomorrow fool."

When asked if he was hacked, the rapper retweeted his response, "no i aint get hacked fool how u get a name like lil murda boy?"

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