Terry Rossio, Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Shrek, Aladdin, and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, got plenty of heat on Twitter for including the n-word in a tweet about vaccines.
On Thursday night, The 100 writer Julie Benson posted information on how people could donate vaccinations through UNICEF.
Rossio responded to her tweet on early Friday morning, writing, “My heart goes out to all the parents of vaccine damaged children, who have to not only endure the sadness of their loss, but also the vitriol of ill-informed and insensitive people (such as those here). Anti-Vax is equivalent to calling someone a nigger and makes as little sense.”
Critics rightly noted that calling someone anti-vaccination was not at all the same as calling them the n-word.
Writer Jeff Grubb gave a tongue-in-cheek reply, writing, “God, this is such a good point. I remember how American founders and citizens enslaved vaccine skeptics for decades. And then, even after freeing them, the government enshrined laws to marginalize vaccine deniers and to deny them wealth and opportunity. That’s just history.”
Rossio was credited on the 1992 version of Aladdin and its forthcoming live-action remake. He was recently contracted to write Warner Bros.’ Jonny Quest film.
Read more of the reactions to Rossio's tweet below.
