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Tropic Thunder premiere with Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise, Jack Black & more
Cele|bitchy — ... Disability advocates groups protested outside the premiere last night. They were particularly offended at the repeated use of the word “retard” to refer to a character played by Ben Stiller in a subplot. Tropic Thunder also features Robert Downey Jr. playing an actor who dyed his skin to play an African-American soldier in a Vietnam War movie. Producers say they’re making fun of the lengths actors go to get Oscars and that there is no affront meant to people with disabilities. Groups such as the Special Olympics and American Association of People with ...

'Thunder' Premiere Showdown Pits Megastars Against Disabled Who Obviously Don't Get The Joke [Retard Wars]
Gawker: defamer — ... , dozens of placard-wielding protesters outfitted in 'Retard'busters T-shirts marched outside last night's premiere in Westwood, giving the proceedings the strangely familiar air of an RGA West strike line. From the AP report: ...

‘Tropic Thunder’ Protested By Mental Disability Groups
Celebritique - The Celebrity and Fashion Critique — ... protesters held up signs with slogans such as “Call me by my name, not by my label” and chanted phrases like “Ban the movie, ban the word.” The groups are outraged over scenes featuring the liberal usage of a disparaging term used to describe the mentally disabled. In the movie, director and co-star Ben Stiller plays a fame-hungry actor cast in a war movie who previously had a role as a mentally disabled character named Simple Jack.“When I heard about it, I felt really hurt inside,” said Special Olympics global messenger Dustin Plunkett. “I cannot believe a writer could ...

Disability advocacy groups protest at 'Tropic Thunder' premiere
Hollywood Insider — ... where people representing organizations such as the Special Olympics and the American Association of People with Disabilities were carrying signs that said things like "Tropic Thunder , Colossal Blunder," "We have abilities, not disabilities!", and "'R' word is hate speech." A coalition of some 22 advocacy groups has launched a boycott of the film, which opens for wide release tomorrow, and Andrew J. Imparato, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, reportedly called the film "tasteless" and said it was "offensive start to finish" after watching a ...