https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZYqW-t7oTY
A video in which rapper 50 Cent mocked an apparently disabled airport worker after he mistook the man for being high on drugs has earned him a cancellation from a local liquor store where he was scheduled to make an appearance.
The rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, had been booked to make an appearance at Gerard’s Buy Rite on Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant Borough May 13 to promote his Effen Vodka brand. The store, in a social media post Wednesday morning, announced that the appearance had been canceled.
“As I’m sure you know or have heard what has un-folded in the last 24 hours with 50 Cent and the disgusting video and remarks he has made, as a result we have decided to CANCEL the bottle signing at our store,” the post said.
In the video, Jackson is walking through an airport corridor when he spots a man pushing a janitor’s cart, looking ahead. He approaches the man, who he assumes is high on drugs.
“What’s your name,” he asked. “What kind of sh-t do you think he took before he came to work today?”
In reality, the airport worker, identified as 19-year-old Andrew Farrell, has an autism spectrum disorder.
Jackson has since apologized for the incident.
“While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, I am truly sorry for offending the young man,” the rapper told the New York Post in a statement. “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.”
Still, Jackson will not be appearing in Point Pleasant Borough.
“Being in business since 1956, this is completely against everything Gerards believes in and what we stand for,” the store said in its post. “We are appalled at his behavior, and in fact have decided to pull all of the vodka off of our shelves and return it to the distributor. We live in a community where respect is of utmost importance, and this is completely disrespectful. We are currently looking into doing some type of donation for the month of May to an autism awareness charity.”
