Website parent company IAC, owner of Match.com, Vimeo and many other popular services, announced today it has fired PR chief Justine Sacco for her instantly infamous tweet about AIDS in Africa.
"The offensive comment does not reflect the views and values of IAC. We take this issue very seriously, and we have parted ways with the employee in question," the company said in a statement emailed to journalists.
"There is no excuse for the hateful statements that have been made and we condemn them unequivocally. We hope, however, that time and action, and the forgiving human spirit, will not result in the wholesale condemnation of an individual who we have otherwise known to be a decent person at core."
The whirlwind story of a successful PR pro's downfall on a global social media stage unfolded in little more than 24 hours. Sacco's tweet—"Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!"—was posted shortly before she boarded a flight, leaving her likely unaware of the worldwide consternation and mockery she had instigated.
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