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Love on the Spectrum star Dani Bowman has some choice words for the Euphoria writers and wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for using — and arguably normalizing the use of — the “R-word.”
“We worked too hard for inclusion and acceptance to normalize the ‘R-word’ again,” Bowman, who has appeared on all four seasons of Netflix’s hit reality TV show, told TMZ in a Friday, May 15, interview. “As someone on the Autism spectrum, it’s honestly painful to watch this language become socially acceptable in pop culture. That word has been used for decades to bully, humiliate and dehumanize neurodiverse people. And bringing it back like it’s ‘edgy’ or ‘funny’ — it’s not progress, it’s a step backward.”
Bowman, 31, continued, “We spent years trying to educate people that these words hurt real human beings. And representation means nothing if respect disappears the second people think it’s trendy to mock disability again.”
Season 3 of Euphoria has come under fire for it’s boundary-pushing content, including gang rape scenes, nudity scenes and the common use of the “R-word,” which has appeared in four of the first five episodes of the show’s final season.
“That’s just the start of the real harm Euphoria overlooks by treating the R-word like casual slang,” Katy Neas, Ceo of The Arc of the United States, a nonprofit that advocates for people with disabilities, wrote in an op-ed for Teen Vogue published on Wednesday, May 13.
“Some people will say this is just how people talk now,” Neas continued in her essay. “That’s exactly the problem. Pop culture helps decide what’s normal enough to repeat. When Euphoria folds the R-word into ordinary dialogue week after week, it’s not just reflecting culture, it’s helping to shape it.”
Bowman didn’t just take issue with Euphoria seemingly normalizing the use of the R-word again — she also addressed The Rock’s decision to use the word during Netflix’s Roast of Kevin Hart.
“I respect Dwayne Johnson and everything he’s accomplished, but using the R-word even in a joke or skit is disappointing,” she told TMZ in the same on-camera interview. “Words like that have a real impact because they’ve been used for years to mock and tear down people with disabilities and neurodiverse individuals.”
The reality TV star continued, “We’ve made a lot of progress when it comes to inclusion and awareness, so seeing that kind of language come back into mainstream entertainment feels like a step backward. Comedy can still be funny without targeting a community that has fought hard to be respected.”
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