An 18-year-old teen's offensive prom proposal has caused outrage on social media over the weekend, various media outlets have reported.
"If I was black, I'd be picking cotton, but I'm white so I'm picking u 4 prom," the sign read.
The teen has since apologised for his actions via social media, saying that it "was a complete joke and it went too far", NBC News reported.
Noah Crowley, a student at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Florida has since been prohibited from participating in any school activities "for the rest of the year", according to a statement released to HuffPost by his parents.
"After numerous familial conversations and lengthy discussions with Riverview High School administrators, we have jointly agreed that our son will not be attending any further school activities or functions, including the Prom or graduation ceremony," the statement read.
"As a family, we truly recognise this incident is a very difficult but important life lesson and pledge to do all we can to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. Certainly, we hope that all of the people and communities who were hurt and offended will forgive our son and family."
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton also tweeted about the incident.
The Independent UK wrote that the recipient of the proposal, who is said to be Crowley's girlfriend, responded to the picture on Snapchat with two heart-eyed emojis.
NBC News reported that Crowley will also face disciplinary action from Riverview High School.
"Neither the school district nor Riverview High School condones or supports the message conveyed in the post," a school statement quoted by NBC news read.
"The school district is working with local and national civic leaders, including the NAACP, to develop a roundtable forum to discuss the issue of race, not just at Riverview, but district-wide."
'Is that what we do in 2018?'
However, the apologies have fallen onto deaf ears as many people on social media expressed this behaviour to be "unacceptable".