Updated: Saturday, Dec. 21, 4:58 p.m. ET: Justine Sacco has been fired from her job as director of corporate communications at IAC, according to a statement released by the company. “The offensive comment does not reflect the views and values of IAC,” the email statement reads. “We take this issue very seriously, and we have parted ways with the employee in question. 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.” Earlier in the day, the company scrubbed her profile from its site.
Earlier:
Justine Sacco, communications director for media conglomerate IAC, which represents brands like OKCupid, has landed in Africa after tweeting a racist “joke” that generated a social media firestorm.
“Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” Sacco tweeted Friday, apparently just before boarding a plane to South Africa from London.
She touched off a firestorm of controvery, which generated the hashtag #hasjustinelandedyet, which was the No. 1 trend on Twitter. And the website justinesacco.com was created, linking to a group of charities that benefit sub-Saharan Africa.