GoDaddy CEO Breaks Twitter Silence Following Elephant Killing Controversy

GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons has been pretty quiet for a couple weeks following the controversy that blew up around a video he posted online in which he killed an elephant in Zimbabwe.

As said controversy ignited, he went on the defensive, and certainly did have his supporters, but the comments we’ve received on our coverage indicate that most found the whole thing appalling.

GoDaddy competitors meanwhile, were able to spin the ordeal as a way to attract customers, and contribute to elephant-related charities.

Since his initial round of defense, Parsons has been pretty quiet. He had not tweeted since April 1, at the height of the controversy. Now, he has. It’s not anything related to the issue, but it does seem to indicate that he’s moving on.

@DrBobParsons
Bob ParsonsMan sez after golf I saw pretty woman, fixed her flat tire & we talked til dark. Wife sez Bullshit! U played 36 holes! 19 hours ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto

GoDaddy never did put out a press release addressing the debacle. Somebody did, however, edit the video pretty heavily, giving it an entirely different feel.

While the video still involves the killing of the elephant, much of the emphasis that was originally on Parsons (including captions about him shooting, and photos of him posing with the carcass) were removed, as were close-ups of villagers wearing GoDadddy hats as they apparently celebrated the slaughter of the elephant, and an oddly-placed use of the AC/DC song Hells Bells.

As GoDaddy tries to move on, it will be interesting to see how the company’s reputation holds up.

There are 13 Comments. Add Yours.

Lynne Gordon
April 18, 2011 at 2:27 pm

Too little, too late. Just crawl back under your rock, Bob. Stay there and lounge in your own filth until it is time for you to go away.

I have never appreciated your using sex to sell domains and I certainly do not think anymore of you today.

You are extremely lucky that most people are just too lazy to move their websites and will just stay with you because it is the easiest thing to do.

And all those lazy people do not even realize that it is that same apathy that has America bent, broken, run-down and broke as a crack ho.

I am looking forward to the day when you have exactly $.81 cents to your name. No more and no less.
fabulous yarn
April 18, 2011 at 3:54 pm

Well, Lynne, this is one tech chick who is not too lazy or apathetic – I wish this had gotten more press coverage – this girl will be moving her 15 sites and all of her domain registrations off of blue razor and go daddy. He is a pathetic excuse of a person.

Judy
Glen Naughty
April 18, 2011 at 6:21 pm

Any NWS on the Cannibal Soup found near Scottsdale Arizona (askmark)
Facebook Marketing Plan
April 18, 2011 at 6:39 pm

Way to go Lynne and Judy! I never used GoDaddy to buy domains and I never will. I use Namecheap instead.
Glen Naughty
April 18, 2011 at 8:38 pm

Hey Big Daddy,

What’s up Doc,
Happy now!

Feeling a little Bashful after your Dopey elephant kills!

Trophy Elephant Kills mounted on your Nascar hood!!! Nice touch!!!

Well, don’t be Grumpy no more

Just Pay off your debt so your square with your investors, & then have A beer with Morgan. It’s low interest & domestic taps on the house. MGD. EZY like ABC

No Late Night till hunting season though otherwise you’ll be Sleepy during slaughter times

Regards, Sleezy (i mean Sneezy)

p.s please return my internet site without extortion
Glen Naughty
April 19, 2011 at 4:20 am

Jan Brewer got bigger problems cumming than Birther
Jack
April 19, 2011 at 9:54 am

Man sez after killing elephant, I say now I cheat on my wife.. that make me better man.. wife says you are a moron!!
JT
April 19, 2011 at 2:59 pm

I get that some people don’t condone hunting.
However, I don’t understand the blinding outrage here.

Bob Parson did nothing illegal. He did nothing in “secret”.
Ultimately, his actions helped protect crops and feed hungry people.
Did he also enjoy the hunt? Probably – but so do millions of other hunters.

As for moving my 120 domains, I won’t be punishing the thousands of people who do great work for Go Daddy to spite one guy (even if that one guy runs the company). Especially when that guy did what he did during his own time.

Grow up Lynn, Glen and the rest of you.
- Edie
  May 29, 2011 at 1:32 pm
  
  It’s called having principles…you need to do the “growing up.” While no one wants to see any underling lose a job, that’s the danger of employment in tech companies. If there is to be a mass pull-out by people willing to act on their consciences, Go Daddy can either flounder/be taken over resulting nothing more than a name-tag change , or employees shout “next!” and move on to the next service. Either way, with outdating technologies,who could be foolish enough to believe that any position other than CEO is a long-term proposition in this field. If Bobs stops the hearts of creatures for “fun” he’s not worth much as a man, and consumers have the right to exercise their freedom of choice.
Mary M
April 19, 2011 at 11:01 pm

You would think Parson’s would find better material, his comments are from a joke and not that good of one either.
JM
April 20, 2011 at 12:05 pm

You people are so naïve, and it’s amazing how you jump to conclusions on a topic without doing any research on your own. Bob employs over 3000 people in the USA, does not outsource any jobs ever, offers free health benefits to his employees, catered lunch and dinner to employees for $2, and many other benefits. He does this because it’s the right thing to do. So when you bash someone for a situation like this, remember that you’re also bashing the working families of this company who depend on it’s success. I hope you also know that bob holds an annual event for the humane society, has done so for a few years I believe, and also donates millions of dollars every year to different charities, again out of his own discretion. If you choose to move your business elsewhere, just remember that in time of need, you may regret a hastily made decision.
- Adam Hommey
  April 24, 2011 at 2:44 pm
  
  I agree with JM. I’ll also tell you that in my 6+years in the internet marketing industry, I’ve seen (and helped) a lot of marketers move all their domains to GoDaddy and ALL of them say it was one of the best moves they made. I’ve NEVER had anyone move their domains FROM GoDaddy.
  
  Not even over this business with Bob Parsons exercising his personal choice when not at work to do something perfectly legal. As a supporter and champion of animal rights, I thoroughly disagree with his choices here. As an American, I agree with his right to make them.
  
  Just like it’s tough for me, therefore, to say what’s “right” it’s also tough for me to say that taking your business away from an excellent company that has a long track record for superior quality and service is an effective way to protest. Hurting GoDaddy will solve nothing here, folks.
  
  If you want to protest, put up a website about how Bob Parsons shouldn’t have shot the elephant. Do it using a GoDaddy registered domain and GoDaddy hosting. See, that would be ironic, and would probably get you some positive media attention for being clever enough to think of it.
  
  Otherwise, go ahead and transfer your domains to other registrars because of what Bob Parsons did on his off-hours. Watch what happens (to your business, to your credibility with your customers, etc) when you need DNS changed, or you need to rely on their tech support because your sites have been down for two days now and you need someone to actually help you.
  
  - ARH
tabletpcunion
July 23, 2011 at 9:38 am

It’s hard to say.