The following statement was released by Autism United in response to the controversy surrounding Big Brother contestant Adam Jasinski’s reference to autistic children as “retards”.

Autism United has received a statement from the Lowe’s Companies that they will be no longer advertise with the CBS program Big Brother in response to a broadcast last week that referred to people with autism as “retards.”

Karen Cobb, a spokeperson for Lowe’s, said in a statement:

“Lowe’s has strict guidelines that govern the placement of our advertising. Our company advertises primarily in national, network prime-time television programs and on a variety of cable outlets.

Lowe’s constantly reviews advertising buys to make certain they are consistent with its policy guidelines. Lowe’s doesn’t routinely advertise on the show “Big Brother” and has taken steps to ensure that our advertising isn’t appearing on future shows.”

Lowe’s is the second largest home improvement retailer in the US.

CBS has not apologized for the incident nor have they taken responsibility for the content of their own broadcast. Autism United and a nationwide coalition of autism and developmental disability groups will be mobilizing families affected by autism to call upon advertisers with Big Brother, including Taco Bell, Saturn, Geico, and others to follow the leadership shown by Lowe’s Companies and withdraw their support for Big Brother. Details of the campaign will be released later today.

John Gilmore
Executive Director
Autism United
www.autismunited.org
(516) 933-4050