Comedian Gilbert Gotfried is known for his censor-less humor when it comes to delicate subject matters, we all remember his infamous 9/11 joke, right? Now his crass sense of humor, this time via Twitter, has gotten him fired from Aflac, where he was the voice of their popular duck mascot. (It should be noted, Gotfried was not the voice of the Aflac Duck in Japan).
The tweets have since been deleted, but you can view two of them below…
Japan called me. They said ‘maybe those jokes are a hit in the U.S., but over here, they’re all sinking.’
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.’
Aflac Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna said, “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 Japan – and, by extension, Japan itself – is part of the Aflac family, and there is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times.”
Just last week Aflac announced that the company was donating 100 million yen to the International Red Cross for disaster assistance to help with the tragedy over in Japan.
In the release, Aflac says that they will immediately set plans in motion to conduct a nationwide casting call to find a new voice talent for the duck.
Do you think Gotfried got what he deserved? Tell us what you think.