Disability groups from Central Texas staged a protest Wednesday evening over the movie “Tropic Thunder.”  They say the Ben Stiller comedy ridicules those who are less fortunate.

About a dozen people protested in front of the Regal Westlake Theatre at 4477 South Lamar South Lamar, all wanting people to boycott the movie.

“The ‘R’ word, retard, is as offensive to us as the ‘N’ word,” said Suzanne Shepherd, a board member with the Down Syndrome of Central Texas.  “It’s hateful, it’s hurtful, it humiliates and it’s a perfect example of not picking on someone your own size.”

Austin protestors are not alone.  There were protests at the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles.

Stiller says it’s meant to be a spoof on Hollywood.

“I think in the context of the movie, it's really clear where we're coming from,” he said.  “It was not meant to offend anyone." 

But many are offended, including Gerald Jimenez, whose daughter has down syndrome.

“She brings so much to our life, and to so many other people lives, that it's hurtful when people use words like this,” he said.  “I just believe they don't understand.  Otherwise, why would they do that?”

He worries that teenagers will use the words when they go to school, and he wants people to know just how hurtful it is.

“We're looking forward to the day when ‘mentally retarded’ is removed from our language, or common use in our language, and replaced with ‘intellectual disability’,” said Jimenez.

The studio that released the movie, Dreamworks, says no cuts will be made to the film, but it has removed a website promoting Stiller’s character.