Love on the Spectrum’s James B. Jones slams Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s disgusting autism rant
Topics: Mental Health, Politics, US News, Netflix
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/Netflix
Topics: Mental Health, Politics, US News, Netflix
Love on the Spectrum star James B. Jones has called out Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s disgusting and completely false claims about autism.
James appears on the third US instalment of the Emmy Award–winning series following a fresh group of individuals - as well as some returning favourites - on the autism spectrum as they explore the realms of romance and relationships. And now, he's explained exactly why he's 'not particularly pleased' with RFK Jr.'s remarks in which he falsely declared people with autism will 'never hold a job or date' after previously pledging to 'eliminate' the cause of what he has called an 'autism epidemic' in just a few months' time.
In the rant, the 71-year-old Health and Human Services Secretary, who is known for his staunch anti-vaccine views and has spread debunked claims that vaccines cause autism, claimed: "Autism destroys families, and more importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. These are children who should not be suffering like this."
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He continued to make the baseless claim: "These are kids who will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date.
"Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted."
James has since spoken to PEOPLE about RFK Jr.'s statements, noting that they 'clearly were made from a position of extreme ignorance'.
"Autism manifests itself differently in every person. No two people who have it are exactly the same," he continued, calling Kennedy's remarks 'flagrantly false'.
The Netflix star went on to explain that 'one should not apply a blanket approach or make generalised presumptions about people who have autism'.
While admitting that it took 'slightly longer' to develop his social skills, James assured: "I have a permanent 40-hour per week job with benefits, which I have held steadily since 2017 and am in no danger of losing. I can operate a vehicle with no issues. I pay all of my own expenses.
"Other than the fact that I live with my parents still, I believe I'm doing quite a good job being self-sufficient. And the fact that I do not yet have my own house at age 37 is due to factors that are beyond my control," James said, noting that he also graduated from college with a 3.85 GPA.
"I did very well in that. So yes, I have not struggled academically at all. I pay my bills. I pay my taxes. I drive a car," he added, before reflecting: "Look where I am now. I am a star of a major Netflix show. I have a huge relationship with a woman whom I love very much, who loves me very much, and everything's going great for me in my life right now."
Debunking more of RFK Jr.'s false claims, James highlighted: "It is not that there are more people with autism, it is that doctors have become more skilled in identifying traits of autism, and that society has become more accepting of autism overall.
"I would hate to see all that progress be lost."
With all that said, James did note that 'unfortunately, there are still some people who do not have a thorough understanding of those who are different from themselves'.
Considering himself 'very fortunate' that 'the majority of people whom I have met understand autism or at least make an effort to understand it', James concluded: "We need to be accepting of each other's differences and understand that no two people ever have the same experience.
"The fact that someone's different from oneself is not necessarily a bad thing and does not necessarily make them a bad person. So we need to be patient and understanding of each other."