50 Cent was recently taken to task after publishing a video on Twitter where he mocked an airport janitor for acting like he was “high as a motherf—-r.” Andrew Farrell, a janitor at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport, is autistic, and has a physical condition which requires him to wear a hearing aid, which is why he was unwilling to engage 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, in the video. (You can watch it below.)
In response to the video, Farrell’s stepfather, Ken Kramer, told TMZ that Farrell has never drank or smoked, and attained legal counsel to defend his stepson in court, presumably by suing the rapper for slander. Sure enough, Jackson told Page Six Tuesday that he’d apologized to the family in private after finding out about Farrell’s condition.
“While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, I am truly sorry for offending the young man. It was certainly not my intent to insult him or the disability community, which is a source of great strength in America. I have apologized personally to him and his family.”
Though TMZ initially reported that the family planned to demand a one million dollar donation to Farrell through GoFundMe, the family’s attorney told Page Six his client would drop the lawsuit after they received a “sincere apology.”
So while 50 Cent may have dodged a bullet, there’s clearly a lesson here that, sadly, needs to repeated. Please, internet, think before you broadcast your random, potentially terrible thoughts for the world to see.