Aniston was promoting her latest chick flick ‘The Switch’ when she said, “Yes, I play dress up! I do it for a living, like a retard!”

Peter Berns, CEO of a nonprofit advocate for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, called Aniston’s comment, “extraordinarily offensive and inappropriate.”

“Frankly, someone in her position ought to know better,” he tells Us. “She is using language that is offensive to a large segment of the population in this country. We estimate that there are probably in excess of 5 million people in the country with intellectual disabilities, and when you think about all of them, their family members and friends, you’re talking about tens of millions of people who find the use of that term to be really offensive. Every time folks hear that word, it kind of reminds them of all the discrimination and oppression they’ve experienced in their lives. Even if it wasn’t intended to insult them, that is the effect of it.”

“Sadly, people use the word pervasively even if they don’t realize it,” Kirsten Seckler, spokeswoman for the Special Olympics added. “People with intellectual disabilities have fought their whole lives for understanding and recognition. When people continue to use the ‘R’ word, it’s hurtful.”