
Denis Leary Upsets Advocacy Group

Oct. 17 2008, Published 8:02 a.m. ET
Denis Leary is known for his foul-mouth style of comedy, but Autism United, a national advocacy group, isn't amused this time.
The Rescue Me actor's take on autism in his new book, Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid, has prompted the group to announce a protest of his shows and call for a boycott on his book.
He writes: "There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can't compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks... to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don't give a f---k what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you – yer kid is NOT autistic. He's just stupid. Or lazy. Or both."
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In a statement released by Autism United, president Evelyn Ain says they're going to rally parents and children to picket the actor when he appears at Comics Come Home 14 in Boston on Nov. 15, as well as asking retailers to stop carrying the book.
"The autism community is not taking this as a joke, says Ms. Ain in the statement. "If Dennis sic Leary feels by putting these... comments in his book he's going to create hype, we're going to have autism families from coast to coast protesting his appearances, showing the joke is really on him."