Gottfried apologizes for insensitive Japan tweets

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A day after getting fired as the voice of the Aflac duck, comedian Gilbert Gottfried apologized via Twitter on Tuesday for his weekend tweets on the crisis in Japan.

Enlarge photo

Charles Sykes, AP In this June 14, 2010 file photo, Gilbert Gottfried arrives with the Aflac duck to the 14th Annual Webby Awards in New York. Aflac on Monday, March 14, 2011 announced that it has severed ties with Gottfried over jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that the comedian posted on Twitter.

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"I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my attempt at humor regarding the tragedy in Japan," Gottfried tweeted from his @realgilbert account. "I meant no disrespect, and my thoughts are with the victims and their families."

But the apology came too late, and now the search is on for a new voice for Aflac duck. You know the one. The white, smart-mouthed duck that always knows the best choice for insurance?

The Columbus, Ga.-based company parted ways with Gottfried, the longtime voice of the duck, who was fired Monday after ruffling the feathers of many following the news of tsunami, the company announced on its website.

"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 Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna said. "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."

By Monday afternoon, the tweets had been deleted from Gottfried's Twitter page.

"I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say, ‘They'll be another one floating by any minute now,'" Gottfried tweeted Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

The company reiterated that Gottfried was not the voice of the duck in Japan, where the company does about 75 percent of its business. After news of the disaster early Friday, the company donated 100 million yen, equivalent to about $1.2 million in U.S. dollars, to the International Red Cross for disaster assistance.

Aflac plans to launch a nationwide search to find the next voice of the feathered icon.