Atlantan Gerod Roth joined the ever-growing ranks of Internet infamy this week, losing his job after a racist Facebook thread attached to his Sept. 16 photo post went viral. The initial post was a photo of him with the 3-year-old son of an African-American colleague, and it sparked an ugly conversation that likened the child to a malnourished slave.
Having “gone dark” for a few days and scrubbing his social media accounts, Roth on Wednesday described himself as “a very nice guy” who has been maligned by the press and by social media.
He said his apparent involvement in the Facebook thread, which ultimately cost him a job, was the result of manipulated screenshots.
"It didn't occur to me that that kind of character would come out in the people I associate with," Roth told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "They joke a lot and push the boundaries with their jokes, but I didn't expect that."
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