It’s easy to get caught up in the allure of Internet meme culture without thinking of any sorts of consequences. That is the predicament NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, Utah Jazz G Trey Burke and Waka Flocka Flame found themselves in when they mocked a man with a rare disability on their Instagram accounts.
Jahmel Binion, 23, suffers from Ectodermal Dysplasias, which is the inability to produce sweat, grow hair or adult teeth. Without knowing this in full, Shaq posted a side-by-side pic of him, mocking his facial expression, garning thousands of likes and angry responses in the process. Burke and Flocka followed suite with the ATL rapper stating, “this my number shooter.
Via With Leather:
Shaquille O’Neal is a man of many hats, from being an NBA legend and a TNT analyst to a comedy icon in his own mind and supporting character in the Happy Madison stable, but being the Big Apologizer has never really been one of his things. Now, though, the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias has put that idea to the test, as Executive Director Mary Fete wrote an open letter to the Buick spokesperson regarding an under-the-radar news story that took a backseat to all of the Donald Sterling press.
“People was coming to me saying, ‘Yo, you got a picture of you with Shaq on Instagram,” Jahmel recalls. “I was kinda hurt; I watched Shaq play basketball his whole season so I’m like, ‘Why he making fun of me when he supposed to be this role model?'”
Needless to say, Shaq and co. were remorseful for their actions and reached out to slandered individual. “Made a new friend today when I called and apologized to Jahmel Binion. Great dude.#alwayslearning #MYBADCUZ,” Shaq said via his Twitter account. Burke did the same, posting: “Had the opportunity to talk to Jahmel Binion yesterday and apologize about the post on IG! #Intentionswerenttohurt #MyApologiesfam.” Waka Flocka let the world know his apology saying, “Right I wanna apologize to #JahmelBinion for being a ass and making a mockery of him #SaluteLiLHomie #WeAllTheSame Waka Flocka.”
While it’s unclear whether or not Jahmel accepted their forgiveness, it’s quite clear the people of Twitter did not.
Thumb through the gallery to see all the hate mail the three celebrities endured after their apologies, including several likens to Donald Sterling. We’re not sure how that correlates exactly but everyone is always feeling some type of way about something.
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Photo: FOX 2, Twitter
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