Jim Carrey Rants On Twitter Over Vaccination

Jim Carrey has embarked on a lengthy rant via his Twitter account, against mandatory vaccination for children.

Over a series of tweets, the 53-year-old ‘Dumb and Dumber’ star spoke about his concerns over the reputed presence of high levels of mercury and neurotoxins in vaccines, following the passing of a strict immunisation bill in California by governor Jerry Brown.

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He also implored his 14.7 million followers to watch a 2014 documentary called 'Trace Amounts’.

The film promotes the view that mercury present in vaccinations has lead to increased cases of autism in children.

Though widely-heralded medical research last year debunked the connection, Carrey, who says he’s not anti-vaccination, continued to air his view in light of the recent legislation, calling for 'greener’ vaccines.

But Carrey later had to apologise after he posted a picture – now deleted – of Alex Echols, a 14-year-old boy with autism. In the picture, Alex looks distressed.

Echols’ family were angered by the use of the picture, which was posted without permission, and because his autism is genetic and nothing to do with vaccination.

Alex’s mother Karen told Buzzfeed: “Jim Carrey has a huge platform - a huge following - and is misrepresenting my son’s image by attaching it to his anti-vax rant.”

Carrey later tweeted: “I’d like to apologize to the Echols family and others for posting a pic of their kids w/o permission.I didn’t mean to cause them distress.”

'Trace Amounts’, the movie that Carrey refers to, has, according to the Hollywood Reporter, been specially screened to a number of wealthy – and vocal – advocates with concerns over environmental and medical matters in order to spread the word from a grass roots level.

Among those said to have been targeted by the 'influencer-oriented’ screenings were the likes of Carrey, Ed Begley Jr, Kirstie Alley, 'Entourage’ star Adrian Grenier and Cindy Crawford.

The film, which features an appearance by activist Robert Kennedy Jr, argues against mandatory immunisation.

Image credits: Getty/Twitter