Gilbert Gottfried, the voice of the AFLAC spokesduck, was fired after tweeting a series of tasteless jokes about the Japanese tsunami.
"Japan is really advanced. They don't go to the beach. The beach comes to them"Thousands dead and half a million homeless in a country devastated by natural disasters aren't laughing Gilbert. Then again, neither is anyone else.
"I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say, 'They'll be another one floating by any minute now."
Really bad taste. And when you consider that about one in four people in Japan are insured by...wait for it...AFLAC, thanks for insulting and creeping out a large number of your employer's customers, Gilbert! According to the New York Times:
Laura Kane, a vice president at Aflac, said on Tuesday the company had stopped running television commercials using the voice of Mr. Gottfried, including one that had been introduced only last week.
“We are re-voicing them temporarily,” she added, as the company makes plans for “a nationwide casting call to find a new voice for the duck.”
Aflac invoked a morals clause in Mr. Gottfried’s contract in dismissing him, Ms. Kane said.
The jokes can no longer be found on Mr. Gottfried’s Twitter account. He posted two comments there on Tuesday. In the first, he wrote, “I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my attempt at humor regarding the tragedy in Japan.”
The second comment read: “I meant no disrespect, and my thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Too little. Too late. Maybe a nice big contribution to the Red Cross might be of more use than his apology?
H/T Memeorandum
Cross posted at LCR.
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Gottfried got what he deserved, his thoughts are with the money he is going to lose.
ReplyDeleteBodies are being washed ashore daily. It will take months for some folks to find their loved ones - if they're lucky. Then there's the problem of worrying about what's going to happen with the nuclear reactors. One news report had a group of people sitting on chairs in the middle of what used to be their neighborhood. When the news crew approached, they got out of their chairs, bowed, and offered what little bit of food they had. These folks don't deserve anything but our compassion and support.
I'm not saying that black* humor doesn't sometimes have its place, but this wasn't one of them.
ReplyDelete*Note to braindead, PC liberals (but I repeat myself): Black in the sense of dark. Nothing racial to see here! Move along! (Or On!)
Oh brother, lots of people make tasteless statements attempting humor, It's how some people deal with situations. So you fired a guy good for you Aflac. Now the world stands in awe at what a caring honest insurance company you are, there's the real joke.
ReplyDeleteDJ: Gottfried was free to make tasteless jokes, same as anyone else. Tiger Woods was free to sleep around on his wife, too. But any company that chooses one of them to be a spokesperson, or to endorse their product or to represent their company in any way, has the right to terminate that employment if their employee says or does something that reflects badly on them, or if they fear it might.
ReplyDeleteThat's life in the big city!