If I were an insurance company doing lots of business in Japan right now, I’d be laying off everyone I could think of, too. They’ve got bills to pay!
AFLAC does realize what Gottfried does for a living, right?
I mean, this is some of the tamest stuff he’s said, like, ever.
How much you think he got paid to quack like a duck?
Aladdin reboot!
I don’t understand why AFLAC’s so upset over this. Gilbert got glowing reviews in Japan. He took to this job like a duck to water.
The Aristocrats!
Did anyone crack tasteless jokes on Twitter after the Haiti quake? I don’t remember.
Really. If that bit didn’t disqualify him as a “spokesman”, (btw, I never knew he voiced the duck), nothing should.
He’s used to such criticism. It rolls of his back like …
The problem with most of these jokes is not that they’re not funny (although they’re not), it’s that they’re so lazy!
I mean, thousands of people dying and cheap wordplay and puns on Twitter is the best you can do?
Not to mention, the lame jokes in this thread…
I’d fire all of you.
I’m not a fan of his, but I have to agree that this is a little silly. Its no secret that he’s irreverent, and that he doesn’t even voice the duck in Japan makes it seem like an overreaction. That is, I think they’re probably more worried about backlash here in the US, where so many people seem to take offense by proxy for others, than they were about how the Japanese would react.
Particularly, a lot of people deal with traumatic circumstances with humor. I can’t particularly relate with the current situation in Japan, but after my initial shock with 9-11, I found those who quickly made humor related to it to be far more helpful. The same goes with personal tragedies throughout my life. Hell, I’m sure many people here have engaged in bashing an ex or even their entire gender shortly after a break-up. So, sure, they may not be for everyone, but making jokes, even irreverent ones, are a part of the coping process of many people.
Since 3/4 of their business is in Japan, I’m going to guess that they were concerned about the reaction over there. Insurance companies in Japan are going to need all the good will they can muster.
Too tsunami.
(Stolen, but I don’t remember from who)
Pat Robertson said it happened because Haiti made a deal with the Devil. Does that count?
In this day and age of instant communication there is no filter of time or medium. Just blurt out whatever enters your mind and send it to a million people. In the past you would have to wait to get on Carson or Letterman, or at least to a lounge act, whereupon a cooler head might prevail before making such off color jokes.
You are all spelling his name wrong. It is GILBERT G-O-T-F-I-R-E-D!
I don’t see anything wrong with him being fired for the reasons already mentioned here. I saw the jokes somewhere they were not just tasteless and insensitive but bad, as in not funny. One of the jokes was along the lines of he fucked some woman in Japan who said the earth moved and she was wet. Not only is it tasteless but it makes you actually picture Gotfried having sex and that makes it brain-bleachingly horrific. shudder
this x 2
Sad our world is so uptight - we need all the humor we can get, even if it is in bad taste.
Personally, I can’t look at the scenes over there without Godzilla popping into my mind.
Can Geico save you up to fifteen percent on car insurance? Can joking about an earthquake get you fired?
Cut to AFLAC duck setting Gilbert Gottfried on fire.
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ETA: Also, I’m always surprised that nominal adults find any of the sort of jokes referenced (or attempted) in this thread to be funny. I remember hearing some of the Challenger ones as a kid and snerking a little, but I’ve seen a lot of real life since then.
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I heard one pretty quick after the explosion:
Q: What was the last voice recording recovered from the Challenger black box?
A: McAuliffe: What’s this button for?