Jim Carrey apologizes for using photo of distraught teen during anti-vaccine rant

 

Jim Carrey went on a Twitter rant following California Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision requiring all children attending school to receive vaccinations, regardless of a family’s personal or religious beliefs.

 

California Gov says yes to poisoning more children with mercury and aluminum in manditory vaccines. This corporate fascist must be stopped.

— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) July 1, 2015

 

I am not anti-vaccine. I am anti-thimerosal, anti-mercury. They have taken some of the mercury laden thimerosal out of vaccines. NOT ALL! — Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) July 1, 2015

 

All we are saying is,”Take the neurotoxins out of the vaccines.” Make them toxin free.History will show that that was a reasonable request.

— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) July 1, 2015

 

During Carrey’s series of tweets, he posted an image of a distraught teen in hopes of bolstering his argument. When the aunt of the young man seen in the photo became aware of how it was used, she expressed her disgust toward Carrey’s appropriation of the image for his position.

Here’s her retort, via Instagram:

 

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.

 

Carrey has since removed the image and posted the following apology:

 

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