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Gilbert Gottfried has made a very good living being an abrasive, loudmouthed, highly annoying comic. But the 56-year-old New York native cost himself a pretty penny this week by poking fun at something that just ain’t amusing – the horrific tragedy in Japan.
Mr. Gottfried, who voiced the iconic Aflac duck in the highly successful TV ad campaign, was fired by the insurance giant when he started tweeting jokes about the earthquake and tsunami.
“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,” Michael Zunda, the company’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a statement.
The tweets attributed to Gottfried were either flip or of a risque nature. One example: “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.’”
Maybe Gilbert—whose middle name, BTW, is Fagnitz—wouldn’t be laughing so hard if the Upper West Side was flooded and radiation filled the air of the Big Apple.
He has since apologized for his incredibly stupid and callous remarks, after a torrent of criticism and career-threatening condemnation, but has been defended by the likes of Joan Rivers and Howard Stern, who say Gilbert’s credentials as a gonzo comedian allow him to pursue such controversial, off-color material.
Joanie and Howie, please give us a break! Ain’t it time for you two to crawl back under your rocks?
As the Aflac duck himself would say, “Quack, quack.”