50 Cent issues apology after he records himself degrading CVG worker
UPDATE: Rapper 50 cent has apologized to Andrew Farrell and his family, after receiving backlash on social media from a video he recording of himself degrading Farrell while he was at work.
The rapper released a statement that said,
"While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, please accept my sincere apologies for offending you. It was certainly not my intent to insult you and I wish you and your family well."
The Farrell family, according to their lawyer, has accepted the apology.
The Farrell family released the following statement,
"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 okay 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.
Signed, Andrew and the Farrell/Kramer Family"
ORIGINAL STORY
CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Rapper 50 Cent is no stranger to controversy and now an encounter with a contract worker at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport has created a firestorm online.
He followed the worker and posted the video on Twitter, complete with speculation the young man might be on drugs. But the truth turned out to be much different.
*WARNING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE*
Disturbing, appalling, just flat out sick; that was how the parents of Andrew Farrell described the video that showed rapper 50 Cent harassing their son. Andrew Farrell had just started his workday at CVG. He was on his way to clean one of the gates.
"Then this guy just came up to me and started talking to me," remembered Andrew.
It wasn't just any guy, it was 50 Cent. And he wasn't just talking to Andrew, he was harassing him.
50 Cent said, "Look at him. What kinds *&%# you think he took before he came to work today? He high as a mother f***** right here in the airport."
"It hurts to watch that, it's painful," said Andrew's stepfather, Ken, who couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You come up and you start talking to a kid you know nothing about. That's not fair. That's a slap in the face."
Andrew has dealt with social anxiety and mild autism all his life. His mother, Amanda, said it was heartbreaking to see him treated like that.
"Personally, I think the guy was mad. Andrew didn't know who he was right away and he ignored him and he did his job and went about his business. I think he was mad and offended that someone didn't flock to him," said Amanda.
Andrew's family would like an apology and if they don't get one, they've got a simple suggestion for 50 Cent.
"You don't deserve to come to Cincinnati at all. You're done."
As for Andrew, he said he was pretty happy with the person he is, "I don't do drugs. I believe in God. I'm a hard worker."
Andrew and his family said the outpouring of support has been tremendous with hundreds of positive messages posted to Andrew's Instagram and Facebook pages in the past few days. Despite all the attention online, 50 Cent has yet to make a public comment about the video.
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