In just 12 words, Justine Sacco managed to offend millions of people all over the globe. And it subsequently got her fired.
On Friday, Dec. 20, before taking off on a flight to South Africa for a long vacation, Sacco tweeted, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”
A wave of angry and bewildered responses followed. However, Sacco was presumably in the air without Internet access and remained blissfully ignorant of the storm brewing below — for hours.
It’s unclear how long Sacco’s tweet remained live online before it was deleted — but then nothing is ever really deleted from the Internet. By the time Sacco — or one of her allies — deleted the tweet, it had been retweeted more than 4,000 times and had been downloaded to hundreds of smartphones, tablets and computers across the globe.
During the 12-hour flight from London to South Africa, Sacco’s 12 words circled the globe, gaining angry momentum. Sacco was Chief Executive Director for IAC, which operates websites like The Daily Beast, About.com, CollegeHumor and Match.com. When they first got wind of her tweet, they issued this statement:
“This is an outrageous, offensive comment that does not reflect the views and values of IAC. Unfortunately, the employee in question is unreachable on an international flight, but this is a very serious matter and we are taking appropriate action.”
In the end, IAC fired Sacco, issuing the following statement:
“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. 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.”
As for Sacco, she later apologized for the tweet. In a written statement she shared with ABC News and The Star, a South African newspaper, Sacco said:
“Words cannot express how sorry I am, and how necessary it is for me to apologize to the people of South Africa, who I have offended due to a needless and careless tweet,” Sacco said. “There is an AIDS crisis taking place in this country, that we read about in America, but do not live with or face on a continuous basis. Unfortunately, it is terribly easy to be cavalier about an epidemic that one has never witnessed firsthand.
“For being insensitive to this crisis — which does not discriminate by race, gender or sexual orientation, but which terrifies us all uniformly — and to the millions of people living with the virus, I am ashamed.
“This is my father’s country, and I was born here. I cherish my ties to South Africa and my frequent visits, but I am in anguish knowing that my remarks have caused pain to so many people here; my family, friends and fellow South Africans. I am very sorry for the pain I caused.”
There are over 50 countries in Africa. Out of the 33.4 million people who are currently living with HIV/AIDS, about 97 percent of them live in Sub Saharan Africa, according to AIDS.gov. Since the first case of AIDS was reported in 1981, more than 25 million people have lost their lives.
Sacco’s imprudent tweet managed to reignite compassion for those living with the virus. The public relations team for Aid for Africa quickly bought the domain JustineSacco.com and redirected to their website to their donation page. Smart PR work. Twitter erupted with applause.
Additionally, AIDS advocates with Going to Africa posted on their website: “The AIDS epidemic is bigger than a tweet from a person in PR. If we want real change, we need to think beyond Justine. Let’s turn that anger into something tangible.” They provide further details about life with AIDS and provide links to donate money for children and treatment.
As for Sacco, since Friday’s fiasco she has deleted her Twitter account altogether, but not before others perused her tweeter feed and found more offensive quips. Among them, these:
- Maybe what I really am, Is wanting AIDS #GIRLS
- #Santa-con is completely retarded.
- As I sit and eat a bagel with lox, i would like to send love to my jews who are all starving themselves right now. #hungryhungryhebrews
- I had a sex dream about an autistic kid last night. #fml