8/21/2008

Jessica McCumber

Former Brady Bunch star will be joining those not going to see "Tropic Thunder."

According to MSNBC.com, former *Brady Bunch* star Maureen McCormick will be joining boycotters not going to see the new Ben Stiller film due to their feelings that it is offensive.  
  
A blog post aparently made on Fancast by McCormick says, "I haven't seen the new Ben Stiller movie 'Tropic Thunder' - and I won't go see the movie because of what I've heard - but I want to add my two cents to the opinions on whether it's offensive to the mentally challenged."  
  
McCormick goes on to say, "I know Ben Stiller has said that he's making fun of actors, not people with disabilities. Still, the movie is geared toward a younger crowd and I fear a lot of those teenagers and college students will leave the theater thinking 'r\*\*\*\*\*' is \[an\] okay word to use. It's not. It's taken years to get people to stop using that word."  
  
Her reason for joining the boycott of the movie is that the issue hits so close to home as a supporter of "Best Buddies," an organization that helps the mentally handicapped, with a brother who is mentally handicapped.  
  
"When we were growing up all I heard was the word r\*\*\*\*\*. People called him that and other cruel names," McCormick remembers, "It was terribly painful for both of us - and it still is painful to remember those instances. I'd hate to think of other people going through the same thing."