ELMSFORD, NEW YORK – APRIL 08: 50 Cent attends an in store signing on April 8, 2016 in Elmsford, New York. (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images)
Rapper 50 Cent recorded a video of himself berating an airport worker that he suspected to be high on drugs.
Little did he know that this worker is an autistic 19-year-old, Andrew Farell, with hearing impairment, and he also suffers from social anxiety.
50 Cent said: “This new generation is crazy — it’s crazy,” “Look at him — what kind of s*** do you think he took before he got to work today?” “He high as a motherf***er right here in the airport. Pupils dilated — the new generation is f*cking crazy”.
The worker appears to ignore the rapper, who demands to know his name and what drugs he’s taken, and continues pushing the cart.
Since 50 Cent posted the video was posted on Instagram, he has received a lot of backlash and eventually he took the video down.
Kent Farrell, the teen’s father, said his son has a disability and suffers from social anxiety. The family said they were livid and demanded an apology from the rapper.
50 cent did just that and apologized to the family in a statement. The Farells have accepted his apology and they released a statement to WLWT saying:
“We would first like to thank everyone for the amazing amount of support that they have shown over the past few days. It has been an emotional roller coaster that we are ready to put to rest. As requested, we have received a letter apologizing for 50 Cent’s behavior and we have chosen to accept it, along with a request that a donation be made to Autism Speaks. Though a letter of apology will not undo what 50 Cent has put our family through, we are choosing to forgive. A great lesson can be learned from this heartbreaking situation. Regardless of the way that another person appears to you, it is never OK to publicly humiliate them via social media. We hope that this situation brings more awareness to what people with autism and other forms of social anxiety suffer through on a daily basis. Again, we thank the growing number of supporters who have shown both love and acceptance during this difficult time.”
In the wake of 50 Cent’s video, many Cincinnati businesses stood behind Farrell and chose to boycott the rapper’s Vodka brand.
Watch the video here!