--- title: Jim Carrey Apologizes for Using Photo of Autistic Boy in Tweet description: Carrey's tweets opposed a California law that removes personal-belief exemptions for child immunizations canonical: https://time.com/3948019/jim-carrey-anti-vaccination-tweet/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-07T15:25:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:21.135Z og:title: Jim Carrey Apologizes for Using Photo of Autistic Boy in Anti-Vaccination Tweet og:description: Carrey's tweets opposed a California law that removes personal-belief exemptions for child immunizations og:url: https://time.com/3948019/jim-carrey-anti-vaccination-tweet/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6894b70d4fb4b45e/698859d9cd1bbaf02c6fc277/jim-carrey3.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Jim Carrey at LACMA's 50th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles on April 18, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jim Carrey Apologizes for Using Photo of Autistic Boy in Anti-Vaccination Tweet twitter:description: Carrey's tweets opposed a California law that removes personal-belief exemptions for child immunizations twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6894b70d4fb4b45e/698859d9cd1bbaf02c6fc277/jim-carrey3.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jim Carrey Apologizes for Using Photo of Autistic Boy in Anti-Vaccination Tweet ## Video: Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk [Watch (HLS stream): Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2014-09-24. TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations_ by [Arlene Washington / The Hollywood Reporter](https://time.com/author/the-hollywood-reporter/) ## Arlene Washington / The Hollywood Reporter Jul 7, 2015 3:25 PM UTC  Jim Carrey at LACMA's 50th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles on April 18, 2015. Jim Carrey at LACMA's 50th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles on April 18, 2015.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin—FilmMagic/Getty Images by [Arlene Washington / The Hollywood Reporter](https://time.com/author/the-hollywood-reporter/) ## Arlene Washington / The Hollywood Reporter Jul 7, 2015 3:25 PM UTC Jim Carrey apologized Thursday night for posting a photo of an autistic boy without permission in his anti-vaccination Twitter rant. Carrey used the picture as part of a series of tweets he posted against a California law that removes personal-belief exemptions for child immunizations. The picture has been removed, but according to a post by the boy’s aunt, the tweet read: “A trillion dollars buys a lot of expert opinions. Will it buy you? TOXIN FREE VACCINES, A REASONABLE REQUEST!” Karen Echols, the mother of the boy in the photo, tweeted to Carrey, telling him to remove the photo, and Carrey later apologized. > [](https://twitter.com/karen%5Fechols/status/616411579773419520) > [](https://twitter.com/JimCarrey/status/616775401197539328) > [](https://twitter.com/karen%5Fechols/status/616803603244716032) The boy’s aunt posted a screenshot of Carrey’s tweet in an effort to persuade him to remove the tweet. She stated in the post that her nephew, who she says is named Alex Echols, was diagnosed with autism before he was vaccinated. She considered Carrey’s tweet to be a mockery of Alex. Carrey isn’t the only celebrity with strong anti-vaccination thoughts. His former girlfriend Jenny McCarthy, along with Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen, also shares similar views about autism’s link to vaccinations. _This_ [_article_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jim-carrey-apologizes-tweeting-photo-806746) _originally appeared on_ [_The Hollywood Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com) _More from The Hollywood Reporter:_ * [2015 Summer Movie Guide: Sequels… Comedy… Action!](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/2015-summer-movie-guide-sequels-796697) * [Kids’ Summer Guide: 25 New Things Families Can Watch and Read Together](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-kids-movies-tv-shows-793024) * [Summer TV’s 15 Most Anticipated Shows](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/summer-tvs-15-anticipated-shows-795181) Jim Carrey Apologizes for Using Photo of Autistic Boy in Tweet ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3948019/jim-carrey-anti-vaccination-tweet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3948019/jim-carrey-anti-vaccination-tweet/"},"headline":"Jim Carrey Apologizes for Using Photo of Autistic Boy in Anti-Vaccination Tweet","datePublished":"2015-07-07T15:25:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:21.135Z","description":"Carrey's tweets opposed a California law that removes personal-belief exemptions for child immunizations","url":"https://time.com/3948019/jim-carrey-anti-vaccination-tweet/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Autism","twitter","celebrity","Jim Carrey"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6894b70d4fb4b45e/698859d9cd1bbaf02c6fc277/jim-carrey3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Arlene Washington / The Hollywood Reporter"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6894b70d4fb4b45e/698859d9cd1bbaf02c6fc277/jim-carrey3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jim Carrey at LACMA's 50th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles on April 18, 2015.","caption":"Jim Carrey at LACMA's 50th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles on April 18, 2015.","creditText":"Axelle/Bauer-Griffin—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3948019/jim-carrey-anti-vaccination-tweet/","name":"Jim Carrey Apologizes for Using Photo of Autistic Boy in Anti-Vaccination Tweet"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk","description":"TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ai82XWJ8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-24T20:18:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3948019/jim-carrey-anti-vaccination-tweet/","duration":"PT2M6S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3948019/jim-carrey-anti-vaccination-tweet/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```