On Monday, famous comedian Gilbert Gottfried was fired by Aflac, an insurance company that is well-known for its commercials featuring a duck voiced by Gottfried. The reason he was fired: Gottfried tweeted a series of jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and many considered these jokes to be tasteless and offensive.
Among the jokes that Gottfried tweeted were the two following jokes: "Japan is really advanced. They don't go to the beach. The beach comes to them" and "I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say, "They'll be another one floating by any minute now.""
After firing Gottfried, the Aflac company released a statement, saying, " "Gilbert’s recent comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac ... Aflac will immediately set plans in motion to conduct a nationwide casting call to find a new voice of the iconic Aflac Duck."
On Tuesday morning, controversial radio personality Howard Stern came to the defense of Gottfried, arguing that tasteless jokes are simply a part of what Gottfried is about. And to an extent, Stern is right. But it is obvious why Aflac would not want to be associated with that kind of humor.
Since being fired, Gottfried has publicly apologized. On Tuesday, he tweeted, "I meant no disrespect, and my thoughts are with the victims and their families." He also tweeted, "I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my attempt at humor regarding the tragedy in Japan."
Gottfried, 56, voiced the Aflac duck since 2000.
(Sources: People.com, TMZ.com)
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