Posted on 03/14/2011 2:55:04 PM PDT by Second Amendment First
Aflac announced it “severed ties” with Gilbert Gottfried, the longtime voice of the insurer’s duck mascot, after the comedian attracted attention for his recent comments about the Japan earthquake.
Gossip outlets, including TMZ, reported about jokes in Gottfried’s Twitter feed that referenced last week’s disaster in Japan. As of Monday afternoon, those tweets do not appear in his Twitter account.
Among the steam of Japan-related comments attributed to Gottfried:
I was talking to my Japanese real estate agent. I said “is there a school in this area.” She said “not now, but just wait.”
“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,” a company executive said in a statement today. “There is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times.”
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
This guy is about as funny as a bout of vomiting....
The Aflac duck is annoying and Gilbert Gottfried is an idiot. What kind of insensitive fool would try to find humor in the tragedy that has befallen the Japanese people? Oh, yeah. Gilbert Gottfried.
Holy crap! The duck was irreverent!
He is funnier than that damn duck. People often cope with tragedy by using humor, but what was he thinking?
We always make jokes in tragic times. Gottfried’s mistake was being too soon. What he said was insensitive, but almost all comedy is. It’s what makes it funny.
Their was nothing hateful in his joke. They shouldn’t have fired him over that.
AFLAC to duck, “You’re Fried!”
AFLAC has a major stake in the Japan insurance industry. Double Bad timing, Gilbert
Mmmm... BBQ Duck head!
The duck’s voice has been fired. But as the blog states, they will retain the duck. The millions spent on the branding of the Aflac duck will not be wasted. Nobody is that stupid.
I asked an expert about Aflac insurance. He said that a lot of companies write the same stuff for less. “You pay a lot for the duck.”
Private citizens are free to be insensitive, but when you’re being paid to be part of a companies’ image, you have to keep that in mind and muzzle yourself sometimes.
I remember back in the 80’s when Gilbert Godfried and Rhonda Shears co-hosted a late night B-movie show called ‘Up all night’. He used to put the scowl on his face back then but now it’s permanently there coupled with that growly voice.
Yeah, real smart to piss off people who are responsible for 3/4 of your paycheck. Idiot.
Why to people leave the head attached??
I have 4 Muscovy ducks that are presently breeding. I should have an army of them by spring. I intend for many of these birds to end up on the table, but I’ll be tossing the head and guts out with the feathers.
It only ever said “Aflac”.
Just take all of the existing recordings, and just reuse them.
The whole duck shtick had gotten old anyway.
I was surprised to learn that, according to FNC at least, that Aflac is the largest insurer in Japan.
So yea, making jokes about one of your largest customer bases, in a time of severe tragedy, is gonna get you fired.
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