--- 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=470&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 470 og:image:height: 264 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=470&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jim Carrey Apologizes for Using Photo of Autistic Boy in Anti-Vaccination Tweet > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=bc306d63-7149-4795-b448-7e90e9e9df01&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## 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) ## Transcript [00:00] So, our recent report claimed that a 2004 study [00:04] withheld a link between vaccines and autism in African [00:08] American boys. No surprise, the anti- vaccine [00:12] crowd considered this a big win. But again and always, [00:17] they're wrong. Here's why. [ MUSIC ] First, [00:25] the subjects excluded from the study had no birth [00:28] certificates available. Meaning data on their mother's [00:31] age, race and more could not be confirmed. And that [00:35] information was vital for the work the investigators [00:38] were doing, More important, the people criticizing the [00:42] research make the familiar mistake of confusing [00:45] associated with causation. While it's true that the study [00:48] did find a slightly higher rate of autism among some [00:52] kids vaccinated between 24 and 36 months of age, it's [00:56] almost certain that those children were already autistic [00:59] and were vaccinated later as part of a basic health [01:02] requirement for attending special education program [01:05] [ MUSIC ] programs. If you join the Army and get a [01:08] mandatory crewcut before basic training, you don't [01:12] then conclude that military service causes baldness. [01:16] Finally, the narrator of a disgraceful web video [01:20] spreading the rumors about the study is Andrew [01:22] Wakefield. The British researcher whose fraudulent [01:26] 1998 paper falsely linking vaccines to autism [01:30] got the entire got the entire anti- vaccine mess started. [01:34] Wakefield has had his license to practice medicine [01:37] revoked in the UK. And is hardly in a position to be [01:40] offering opinions on anything at all. So for the billionth [01:44] time, vaccines are safe, effective and vitally [01:49] important. Rumor mongering, on the other hand, can [01:52] kill. 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