To many disability activists, feminists, and LGBT people, Jerry Lewis is NOT a humanitarian. He has insulted many members of minority groups, including people with muscular dystrophy and other disabilities.

Here are some examples: In 1990, Lewis wrote that if he had muscular dystrophy and had to use a wheelchair, he would “just have to learn to try to be good at being a half a person.” During the 1992 Telethon, he said that people with MD, whom he always insists on calling “my kids,” “cannot go into the workplace. There’s nothing they can do.” Comments like these have led disability activists and our allies to protest against Jerry Lewis. We’ve argued that he uses the Telethon to promote pity, a counterproductive emotion which undermines our social equality. Here’s how Lewis responded to the Telethon protesters during a 2001 television interview: “Pity? You don’t want to be pitied because you’re a cripple in a wheelchair? Stay in your house!”

If you object to the Motion Picture Academy’s decision to recognize Lewis as a “humanitarian,” sign our online petition at
http://www.petitiononline.com/jlno2009/petition.html