“Friends” actress Jennifer Aniston was criticized by disability advocates for using the word “retard” in an interview Thursday with Regis Philbin, Us Weekly reported.
“I play dress up! I do it for a living, like a retard!” Aniston, 41, said on the “Live with Regis and Kelly” talk show when asked about a recent photo shoot of her invoking the image of Barbra Streisand.
Disability advocates lashed out at the star, saying the word is “extraordinarily offensive and inappropriate,” according to Peter Berns — who leads a disability advocacy group.
“Sadly, people use the word pervasively even if they don’t realize it,” Kirsten Seckler, spokeswoman for the Special Olympics added. “People with intellectual disabilities have fought their whole lives for understanding and recognition. When people continue to use the ‘R’ word, it’s hurtful.”
Other celebs like Howard Stern and Lindsay Lohan have also been knocked for dropping the word.
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Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin infamously called for the resignation of President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in February when he was quoted describing a political maneuver against moderate Democrats as “F****** retarded.”
“Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities – and the people who love them – is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking,” a post on Palin’s Facebook page said.