Gilbert Gottfried has been the voice of AFLAC for over a decade, but the insurance giant has decided to cut the comic loose following his recent string of incredibly tasteless tweets about Japan over the past few days.
Either Gottfried didn’t realize that over 70% of AFLAC’s business is done in Japan, or maybe he is just incredibly thoughtless and cruel to make light of such a horrific tragedy. Whatever the case may be, I hope this guy loses more than his job. I hope he loses whatever “celeb” notoriety he has left and disappears back under the rock he crawled out from.
Good riddance.
*I know this is a humor site, but I was so pissed I had to share. Pathetic, unfunny comic is PATHETIC AND UNFUNNY*
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too soon?
I have never thought this obnoxious ass hole was funny and I can’t believe so many people are defending him. I am glad he lost his job and I hope he loses more than that. I am absolutely shocked that so many of you found these jokes funny. This is not about “dealing with a difficult situation with comedy” it is about him making fun of a tragedy that caused thousands of deaths. I’m sorry, but I will not lighten up.
HE”S FUNNY, LIGHTEN UP!!!!!
He should stick to Dina characters and bad movie villains.
It is too soon. That are funny, but he should have kept them to himself for at least a year or two.
and let them them get soggy?! no! you just got to throw them out there and see if they float.
Out of almost 250 comments, yours, Kat, is the only one I agree with. People care WAY too much about their opinion rather than the story at hand. (welcome to the interwebs) Simple, true and nothing else required. Funny but too soon = insensitive.
/thread.
Not to by trollin but just how things went down for japan is just kinda funny. not the effects by it but just EARTHQUAKE! TSUNAMI! OIL RIG FIRES! NUCLEAR MELTDOWNS! who could of seen all that comming!? thus in itself kinda funny. again. the results of all of it were in no way funny. they jokes are though.
get a sense of humor. btw i have an autistic grandson and was not offended by the joke at the trump roast. everything is everything. laughter helps us cope with the horror.
I lol’d…but I like “too-soon” humour. It’s supposed to offend for frak sakes.
The only thing that surprises me about Gottfrieds actions is the fact that people are shocked by his tweets. He pulled the same “too soon” humor shortly after 9/11 during the Friar’s Club roast of Hugh Hefner.
I guess he’s one of those that believes that there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
Part of what makes Gilbert Gottfried funny is the shock factor…
I was watching him last night on the roast of David Hasselhoff,
and he was freakin’ hysterical!! politcal correctness can go too far especially when people take things too seriously
Hahahaha, awesome. Go, Gilbert.
No.
Yup!
c-c-ccombo break…NO.
hahahahaha
TOO SOON IS THE JOKE! get over it you self-righteous %$#^. go Gilbert
Oh c’mon, like no one in this country ever made jokes about Katrina, we’re an equal opportunity country . . . every tragedy equally.
*we make fun of every tragedy equally.
Well, that ruined it.
Just a few months after September 11th Gottfried said at a Friar’s Club roast that he was late to the event because his plane had a stop over at the Empire State Building.
The only people who are offended by him at this point are the people who weren’t paying much attention anyway…
Exactly!
Are you implying that there are people who HAVE been paying attention to him?
You mean other than anyone who watches family guy, Seth McFarlane, the Friar’s club, any one who watches Celebrity Roasts, Aladdin, Jay Leno, played Kingdom Hearts, or watches the many shows he does voices or guest stars on? Then yeah. Noone.
don’t drag Peter Noone into this.
Hey, Peter Noone had it coming.
All of those things suck a lot. I don’t waste my time watching any of those stupid things. And Jay Leno also is the King of tasteless humor. I lost all respect for him with his stupid judge ito stuff. He was making fun of a murder trial!
Yeah…not going to bother arguing personal taste with you, as that is pointless. It’s obvious you miss the point.
Isn’t this the guy who went up to Jackie Onassis and asked her “Where were you when Kennedy was shot?”. As horrible as he is funny.
If there was a city in this country that needed a bath… it was New Orleans. Come on, French AND redneck? That’s a hygiene combination that no soap can tackle!
The mass-internet has taken the Japanese tragedy a little harder than other tragedies. I know it’s been really terrible, but usually there are too-soon jokes out within 12 hours of a major disaster like this that are getting laughs. For some reason though, every too-soon joke or in-bad-taste comment has been taken really badly.
Perfect season for trolls, naturally…
lol……they need RWJ and some Troll Massacreing. Youtube Troll Massacre
You forget that the comedians usually wait a while before making the jokes. It was a few weeks after 9/11 before it began. Sadly common sense is a rare commodity with comedians (and most people) :’(.
Actually, having been to Japan, they’re very respectful. They may laugh at cruel things but i’m not convinced they’d find your natural disasters funny. They donated a lot to Katrina victims.
Wait… GG was the ‘voice of Aflac’? Really? He was the duck? If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known… or cared… oh.. yeah… still don’t care. THe jokes are tacky… but you *have heard* GG’s jokes before… RIGHT?
Oh no….not Digit!
omg some of these are hilarious! I laughed so hard at that last one
This is what Gilbert Gottfried *does*. This isn’t news, the man has always made terrible jokes, that’s just what makes him who he is.
It’s kind of a hint we should lighten up. >_>
“lighten up”??????????????????? Tell that to the familes and friends pf the TEN THOUSAND or more people that have DIED. Just when I thought that morons in the USA just a few in number this coment board strives to prove that wrong. I wiill pray for Japan while you idiots make jokes about this disaster.
Here is some more hilarity for gilbert to joke about, three nuclear plants may explode, more people may die from radiation. Let the jokes commence…
You’re new to the internet, aren’t you?
Has it occurred to you that maybe his jokes weren’t intended to injure or offend? Some people enjoy laughing during difficult situations, its one more way of dealing with and processing tragedies. I have friends who’re volunteering to go over to Japan to provide aid, and I’m helping to sponsor them. I’m sorry if I also have the ability to see the humor in a tragic situation.
Here, here!
Exactly. We laugh because it hurts. Most humor has its roots in something painful.
As aftershocks jolted the devastated city center in Ishinomaki, the families of two missing kindergarten [...] came across a charred school bus [...]
Mika Sato, 36, peered inside and saw the body of her 6-year-old daughter Airi [...].
“Airi! Airi!” she screamed.
The bodies of Airi and three other children were found in the battered bus, along with that of a kindergarten staffer who accompanied them.
The four children appeared to have held on to one another.
Asahi
I hope you die of cancer. How’s that for funny?
Really Melissa? REALLY?
I will reiterate this again.
My friend, in Japan, her sister was injured and her aunt was killed in the Tsunami . . . some of her friends are also hurt or dead.
She’s dealing with fear and grief.
She thought these jokes were funny.
But, I’ll go ahead and let her know that even after all she’s been through, you hope she gets cancer and dies.
I highly doubt that story is true.
Why? Because you find it hard to believe that some one who was there when this happened and is dealing with the aftermath could possibly find this dark humor funny at all?
Obviously though, you’ve never met the comedian who lost her husband in the 9/11 attacks and started making jokes about it a few months later. She didn’t get a whole lotta laughs from her audience, more like uncomfortable silence . . .
She did have a response though:
“I probably will get cancer what with the radiation and all.”
Oh, and her sister is gonna be fine, if you wanted to know.
I guess you missed his radioactive joke up there.
The radiation will make them develop gills
People die everyday…It’s nature, everything must die eventually. I don’t understand what is so tragic about death. We all will die. Sure, we want to live forever, but that s**t just isn’t going to happen. People die, get over it. Are you saddened by the thousands of people that die everyday naturally? No, probably not. You know why? Because you don’t know those f**king people and you don’t have media screaming down your throat about it. Why is this situation any different? Grow up, people died, more people will die tomorrow, more will die the next day, and more people will die until the day humanity is wiped from the face of the earth. It’s an inevitable process.
Obviously you’ve never lived through a natural disaster yourself, or had any of your friends or relatives die in such. I’m sorry, but you have no idea what it’s like to live in the midst of a disaster-zone.
I have, My uncle, cousin, and grandmother where killed in Katrina. I was one of the first people around me to joke about it. I got over it preaty quick to. like my buddy above you said. Death happends. if it weren’t on the news you wouldn’t care.
Sorry, Sara, I have suffered immense personal tragedy in my own life. What has carried me through has been my ability to laugh at it. The Reaper is a whole lot less scary when you laugh in his face.
You mean the comment board based on making funny pictures of cats? Yeah. The height of intelligence.
Also, if you want to call people idiots, try proofreading your sentences for misspellings and missing words. Strengthens your arguments.
1: Mean but funny is still funny.
2: Black humor is a coping mechanism.
but:
3: When your job is to speak for a corporation or nation,
you need to do your personal commentary under an alias.
When I become radiactive and drown, I will take my final second to think about how my death will be a great base for countless jokes.
Obviously his jokes aren’t to help him cope with something horrible, it’s him being an insensitive idiot.
@goedjn: Finally, the only halfway intelligent comment on the whole board! You make a good point for both sides!
1: +1
2: +10
3: +10000000000
and how many more are dead because someone made a joke about it? NONE! get over yourself
Yea, um…how is this news or surprising?
If Gilbert was good at telling jokes, his main source of income wouldn’t be portraying a effing duck, now would it.
It…doesn’t. It comes from going around the country doing Stand-up.
lol gilbert is great!
I dunno…I laughed at almost all of them.
i did too. and i don’t feel bad about it.
he deserves that. no, he deserves something even worse. and I mean it.
Yeah, how dare he say things!
Right? I mean you’d think we lived in a country that believed in free speech or something! GEEZ!
Free speech goes both ways. He has the right to say sht like this, and the rest of us have the right to say whatever we want in response. That’s how it works. I hate when whiney little morons are all, “OH! I said such-and-such and people complained and called me out on it! THEY SHOULDN’T DO THAT! THEY HATE FREE SPEECH!” Um, no. They are using THEIR right of free speech, dumbass. It isn’t “The right to listen quietly to other people’s free speech without comment”. It’s free speech for all.
So, you believe it’s rational to wish death and harm on someone for saying something he doesn’t even mean? Because, that’s pretty much what I’m saying.
No sh*t Dr J and that’s what we are all doing, saying what we want in response to him and to other each other. I never said that the people who didn’t like what he said shouldn’t express their own opinion but I do think that wishing people get cancer and die because they laughed at a joke that some one made about a tragedy is irrational.
This blog has on occasion posted something that I thought was in extremely poor taste and I didn’t get my panties in a twist over it. Jeez, lighten up Francis.
You didn’t get upset so we shouldn’t? Who appointed you the arbiter of what can or cannot offend the rest of us? Get over YOURSELF.
As for the ones who think the earthquake and tsunami damage are funny, keep thinking that way…and I bet Karma kicks your asses.
You got upset so we should too? Who appointed you arbiter of what can or cannot offend the rest of us? Get over YOURSELF.
You don’t seem to get karma do you?
If karma is real all that means is that everyone laughing is going to be reincarnated as a lesser class person in India.
since karma is just part of the Hindu religion. be smart
This isn’t a matter of “too soon”, this is a matter of making jokes about horrific tragedies where people have died and been displaced never being funny. People who find this funny must (and hopefully) do not have any friends or family over in Japan. This isn’t funny, and I’m glad this man got fired.
yeah…maybe it’s an age thing, (although that doesn’t work when looking at the “comic,”) but I’m not finding a lot of humor in thousands being dead, whole towns being annihilated, and continued destruction occuring with aftershocks and nuclear problems.
I miss people being a little more compassionate with their commentary, and a little more discerning in deciding what is a proper target for humor.
Who was the best jewish cook?
Hitler!
Took me a couple seconds to get your joke, but then I LOLed! But then I have a morbid sense of humor. At least I have one though. GG has always been my least favorite comedian, but I’ll be the first to defend his right to make whatever jokes he wants.
I generally do not comment here but honestly. When my Mum died of cancer we were all cracking jokes, herself included. When my Dad died of cancer his last breath was a laugh. My brother-in-law and his family are in Japan and had to live through, and are continuing to deal with, this. He is approx. 75km away from one of the nuclear reactors. He is cracking jokes. He has said that he will be able to find his kids in the dark now.
Just because you can find humour in this situation doesn’t mean you don’t feel badly for them or you are devoid of compassion and empathy. It means the opposite. To me it means that this tragedy affects you deeply and humour is one way of releasing the emotions. As Joni Mitchell wrote, “laughing and crying, you know it’s the same release”.
For anyone to be wishing someone else die a horrible death or to wish ill-will on Gottried or anyone else is by far the worst person for they show no understanding at all about human nature and show the lack of compassion and empathy they are accusing those of us who find it funny of lacking.
/steps off soapbox
Now where are those funny cats?
*APPLAUDS*
“When my Mum died of cancer, we were all cracking jokes, herself included.”
Um…how is that possible WHEN SHE JUST DIED?
Maybe they were zombie jokes?
grammer and word placement details are teh weakest of arguments.
Oh, so Gottfried has family in Japan and he’s just trying to cope? If he doesn’t, your entire argument was just rendered invalid.
“Because I said so.” Right. So…you have to have someone directly related to you involved to feel sympathy? Yeah, guess that just shot your argument to s**t because I said it does. /drj
Why does it have to be family? Why can’t it be friends, or in his case, fans? Or maybe he is just as devastated as any of us and this is his way to cope with it.
Just saying….
Trinity has a point.
he could also be providing the lulz the survivers are looking for. making him a great person, sacraficing his career and image to help these people cope with this.
just saying
WIN!
I’m here now, albeit in Tokyo so just barely out of the range. Still, we’re feeling it here. It’s one thing to make a joke about yourself (Hell, I keep telling everyone that I’m going to be pissed if I don’t get superpowers from the radiation). But it’s a totally different thing to make that joke about others when you’re not part of it.
People laugh at themselves when they’re in a ‘laugh or scream’ situation. GG is not IN that situation. He’s sitting comfortable back in his cozy home, content as can be as he fires off cruel quips and jokes.
Which is exactly why he is a douchebag, and you aren’t.
I have family over in japan currently. Haven’t hear from them either. I am still laughing and being an @ss about it anywhey. if you don’t have family or friends there than you can just stfu.
Survivers of tragesties like theese are the ones who either make the most jokes about it. or find them very funny. You clearly aren’t one of them so you can’t know, so stop speaking for us. were alive and we get over it.
Yes, Gilbert’s humor is very blase in the face of a death toll that is around or above 10,000.
IT’S OVER 9,000!…oh god that was bad. I’M BAD PERSON! WE’RE BAD PEOPLEZ!
Go cry, emo kids.
…and another thing – what do great-great-grandparents and parents over in Japan share in common today? Simple. They both glow in the dark.
…
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!
I think it’s absolutely hilarious.
Of course it’s a terrible tragedy, and I feel terrible for those hurt or worse by it. But I know that if I ever die of a horrible disaster, I hope people can find humor in the situation.
If you can’t laugh at yourself, it’ll be much harder to move on from whatever tragedy you find yourself a part of.
Have your family keep us updated so we can make sure to make fun of your death. It’s not a matter of laughing at yourself, it’s a matter of the fact that there were a LOT of people “hurt or worse” (worse being death). If you find it funny, you’re a pretty rotten person. Seems to be a lot of you though.
Precious, If I were to die in a manner you can find a way to make fun of, and that helps you deal with a tragedy, then God love ya. Chuckle it up.
My thoughts exactly. I tell everyone close to me that I don’t want tears at my funeral. I want people to laugh.
People dieing is not funny, but jokes are jokes. People need to learn how to separate the two. I laughed at some of GG’s tweets, but that doesn’t mean I’m laughing at the people affected by the tragedy. I’m laughing at the jokes themselves. I feel for the people suffering, but a joke – even a tasteless one – is still just a joke.
My family ALWAYS winds up joking and laughing at family funerals. Even at the funeral home. Some of our best family moments revolve around humorous incidents, and when we’re together, we remember them, especially if the deceased was involved.
Besides, you can’t spell funeral without “fun”!
That reminds me of when my step-father died and all our family was out for dinner afterwards and I was cracking jokes and laughing with my cousin. My mother came over and said we were laughing too loud. Understandably she was upset because her husband just died but this was after days of his illness taking it’s toll on me and her and then his death and dealing with the funeral so for me, it felt GOOD to finally laugh. But she doesn’t understand that kind of reaction to grief. When my father died when I was 10, it wasn’t a complete shock, him and my mother had been separated since I was 3 and he had lung cancer and was also sick a very long time before he died. When we finally got the call that he was gone, I really didn’t feel that bad about it because I KNEW it was coming and since I wasn’t able to see him for a few month before he died since he was so sick, I had already grieved his lost. Later that day I was playing video games and just acting like ALL kids do and my mother YELLED at me because I was just acting like a normal child even after knowing my father had just died. I guess she thought I was supposed to throw myself across my bed and sob for a few hours but I was ready to move on because it’s like I had already dealt with it. I guess all I’m saying is that we all react differently to tragedy and we should stop harping on each other.
With you and your dad was kind of like me and my uncle. Same cancer and reaction from it. I think I have pregrieved everyone. Death no longer is a big deal to me. <10 I would of balled my balls off. But after that it is nothing.
<>
seriously. why did it remove the words ‘no’ and ‘troll’ from the ?
To this day I’m still a little angry at my mother for yelling at me. I mean, I loved my dad but I was just being a kid. Would she have felt better if I locked myself in my room and refused to eat and not be able to sleep? Kids are pretty resilient. I kind of get weird about it now, when I say my dad died when I was ten and then people are like, oh I’m sorry and I’m like, why? You didn’t kill him did you? I mean I know it’s supposed to be the thing you say but it was 20 years ago . . . I think I’m okay with it now.
Making jokes or laughing at death of so many innocents. Karma can’t move fast enough for Mr. Gottfried and some of the posters here.
I can’t speak for everyone who shares my sense of humour, but I myself can say that I’m not laughing at the people who died, I’m laughing at the comments made by Mr. Gottfried himself. Black humour has always tickled me.
Today, I got the news that my japanese friend was okay after two days of panic, though she’s lost her grandmother in the tradgedy. It’s horrible, it’s saddning. But I still find the funny side of this, not because I lack a heart, but because without the humour I’d probably just get sick of feeling miserable about it, just like I do with every tradgedy.
And really, all feeling sad is going to do is make me feel sad. It’s not going to contribute any to their wellbeing. I’m still giving to the Red Cross, and sending genuine, heartfelt well wishes. But that’s all I can do. After that, I need to start helping the people around me deal with grief, and to do that, I need to find the funny side of things to pick me up, move on and deal with the fact that something horrid has happened, again, in the world
Well said!
some of those were good lol.
Surely hope this ‘comedian’ has been saving his fuzzy duck money, cuz karma dictates he’ll get another paying gig when he’s funny.
Gilbert’s been working the comedy circuit for decades. He’s not going anywhere.
This is exactly the type of stuff Gilbert has always done. I’m sure he’ll be fine.
Actually, this probably will work out to help his publicity.
Exactly!
Karma is just the name of how one is reincarnated in the hindu religion.
Tragedy and “lightening up” aside, as stated, 70% of AFLAC’s business is done in Japan….bad jokes or not, you DON’T insult your customers. Being canned for that reason alone is justifiable.
70% of AFLAC’s business WAS done in Japan.
Oh snap! I laughed out loud and woke up my roommate to this one.
Glad he was fired. Those jokes aren’t funny even if you fail to consider the massive loss of life.
oh no, a comedian known for offensive jokes made offensive jokes.
Japan has Nazi costumes and tentacle sex as a part of their pop culture, if they are offended, they can f**k right off.
IT WAS HILARIOUS!!!! LMAO!
jokes don’t lessen or add to the tragedy nor do they alter anything in practical terms
i don’t see the problem :/
Valid point.
No, maybe not in practical and physical terms jokes don’t do any harm.
But imagine you were in their place and while you’re fighting to save your life and your loved ones life, someone’s cracking jokes.
It’s callous to laugh at their misfortune and suffering instead of offering help and compassion. Could explain why the world is the way it is, so full of blah and uncaring people.
I worked as a fire rescue worker for nearly a decade, people cracked the darkest and most horribly offensive jokes constantly, perhaps as a reaction to the stress, there is an entire genre of comedy that describes it. Guess we are all horrible and callous people. That or you are a judgmental and unempathetic ass.
I’m sorry. I can’t hear you over the cries of millions of people suffering.
Yeah, God forbid people react to sadness and tragedy in a way different than you.
dg101=99.9% successful troll?
If mocking self-righteous people casting judgement and wishing death and pain on people laughing at and making JOKES makes me a troll, then so be it.
Please re-read ALL my comments.
I have not name-called, not even to the guy that called me an ass nor have I wished death and pain upon anyone.
I practice netiquette which attacks the issue and not the person.
Go attack the people who did.
Um… “I’m sorry. I can’t hear you over the cries of millions of people suffering.” In response to someone’s honest reply to your post? Yeah. One of the most obnoxious, smug things posted on this board.
yes, it is an obnoxious reply to a comment that name called.
This guy’s not Japanese though, so:-
Irrelevant anecdote is irrelevant.
This man’s jokes are appalling and in poor taste. Definitely does not appeal to me.
Reminds me of the time when the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded, a radio dj said that the female astronauts had eyes that blew him away. One blew this way and the other blew that way. Needless to say there was an uprorar.
them big words sonny boy!
Which ones are giving you trouble? I’ll make a note to avoid them in future.
p.s. no boy parts
speaking of the female shuttle columbia astronaut, did you know she had dandruff? Yeah, they found her head and shoulders on the beach.
Ooooooh, not nice . . . *snicker*. . .
Dammit, you made me laugh!
That’s funny stuff i don’t care who you are i LMFAO
I don’t know anyone who’s from or has ever been to Japan, and I have no reason to be emotionally invested in anything going on over there.
And I STILL don’t find any of his jokes even remotely funny.
I have a Japanese friend who’s sister is injured and her aunt died in the tsunami. She knows that some of her friends are hurt of dead as well. I spoke with her today and I told her these jokes. You know what? She laughed, she laughed at most of them. Real genuine laughter. Is she a horrible person who doesn’t love her friends or family? Of course not. Some people think these jokes are horrible and offensive other may get a chuckle out of them, including a young girl who’s mourning the death of her aunt and fretting about he sister. Some people find that jokes and humor, no matter how poor in taste they may be, help them cope a little better.
Gottfried should have refrained at least because he was an employee of AFLAC at least. But it happened and that’s that. But I bet he’s not the only one making jokes but he’s the one that has celebrity status.
Wow? Serious ROFLrazzi? Hell, really Cheezburger network as a whole?
There have been PLENTY of posts that someone somewhere might find ‘offensive’. Should this whole site be taken down then? ROFLrazzi was built on tearing down, dehumanizing, and offending individuals.
People need to get off their high horse and just ignore the things that offend them. Then again, I’m the type of guy who laughs at dead baby jokes.
Personally, I prefer Helen Keller jokes myself.
Once again proving that Gottfried is among the greatest living comedians. Hardly washed up, still a household name known for his standup, unique voice, and countless voice acting roles in children’s shows and movies. This is even funnier than his aristocrat rendition. He made a career off of knowing when to ignore boundaries. Screw you guys for not getting the jokes and for your harsh words. With such comments in your posts I don’t think I will keep coming to your website,
This ^
You know.. I liked his comedy until this..
Yeah, I don’t know why this wholesome character would suddenly be so insensitive. This clearly crosses the line for the strict moral standards to which we have always held our celebrities in America.
in a related note:
LAWL!
This disaster is such a big one, it is hard for people to completely understand and give it a place. That is why people are making jokes about it – to deal with it.
Granted – some of his jokes were insensitive (to say the least) but he has freedom of speech. If you don’t like it, don’t laugh about it.
Too soon I guess…
They are no more tasteless than all the other disaster jokes around. If all comedians should be fired over bad jokes, there would be no comedy shows left in the US.
I was wondering what was wrong with his jokes until I realized not every country in the world is the Netherlands. We use humor as a national coping mechanism; it’s never too soon for a ‘tasteless’ joke IMO. f you can’t even make a joke about it, it only becomes harder. That doesn’t mean you don’t feel terrible about what’s happened, in fact, the pure horribility of the jokes often reveals how terrible people know the disaster to really be and how much it’s on their minds.
Then I can’t wait for a natural disaster in the Netherlands so I can laugh at you.
Hahahaha believe me, we’ve had enough horrible internal disasters that we’ve made jokes about. A few years ago, an entire city was sacked and I don’t know how many people severely injured due to a horrible accident with a fireworks factory. Not even two days later the first joke was made: ‘Hey, what’s the highest point in Enschede? ..The curb’
You’re wishing a natural disaster upon someone? Really?
What room do you have to be so horrible? herp was sharing his/her cultural perspective, and you’re wishing disaster upon him/her just because it doesn’t mesh with your personal perspective? Get off your high horse and respect the way other people cope. If it doesn’t work for you, gtfo.
SERIOUSLY!
@Melissa
You shouldn’t be making jokes about the people that endured a disaster, they should be about the situation. I don’t think you got the point Herp made.
Ick. This whole thing. Just ick.
The jokes weren’t funny. At MOST they might inspire an eye-roll.
And I get the concept of black humor. I really do. I understand cops making jokes at the site of a horrific car accident or doctors joking in the emergency room. But those are jokes made among a few people who are all in the same situation together.
When jokes like this are sent out to millions, they ARE going to offend and incite a lot of people and if you sneer at anyone finding these jokes offensive and hurtful you are an idiot.
I’m not going to tell you you’re a bad person for laughing at black humor. (Although the “humor” part is generous in this case.) But really, we’ve been reading and watching a lot of horrifying and upsetting things coming out of Japan. Are you really surprised that huge numbers of people just CANNOT find anything funny about this?
I don’t have a problem with people who find these jokes offensive, or even people who think that Gottfried got what he deserved. I DO however, have a problem with people who are self righteous enough to think that anyone who DID find these jokes funny are horrible people and hoping that bad things will happen to them. So count my Japanese friend among them, with her injured sister and dead aunt who found most of these jokes to be quite funny. But she’s already been through the Tsunami so maybe this time she’ll be caught in a Typhoon instead?
Like I said, I don’t think that anyone who laughs at these jokes is a horrible person.
That doesn’t mean I don’t have a problem with Mr. Gottfried for posting the tweets. I think black humor is best used between individuals or small groups. Sending it out to the whole world, especially at a time when the tragedy is still ongoing and feelings are still pretty raw, is just a BAD idea. You’ll entertain a few people, but you’ll hurt and offend a lot more. And I’m not talking about overly-sensitive, pearl-clutching, humorless people. There are a lot of smart, reasonable people who love a good joke who are offended by this sort of thing.
And when all is said and done, these are really bad jokes. I mean, REALLY bad.
See, I didn’t mind your post because you are one of the few people who didn’t like what Gottfried did but didn’t try to damn other people to hell for thinking his tweets were in anyway funny. I can respect that.
Let’s play “Where Kameko F**ked Up”.
“The jokes weren’t funny. At MOST they might inspire an eye-roll.” Nope, looking good so far. Logical, doesn’t make a huge deal out of the jokes.
“And I get the concept of black humor. I really do. I understand cops making jokes at the site of a horrific car accident or doctors joking in the emergency room. But those are jokes made among a few people who are all in the same situation together. ” Yup. Nothing wrong here, all facts.
“When jokes like this are sent out to millions, they ARE going to offend and incite a lot of people and if you sneer at anyone finding these jokes offensive and hurtful”…” you are an idiot. ”
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT! OOooh, and the point is missed! No one’s bothered by the fact that people find the jokes offensive. It’s the people who wish ill and cast sanctimonious judgement upon those who DON’T find them offensive. Then you proceed to call us idiots. You’re not going to call us bad people, but you’ll call us idiots? Remember, these are things you’ve wrongly perceived us as.
True . . . but after all the others hoping that we all have some sort of tragedy befall us, I didn’t mind so much.
Gilbert Gottfried is a man who MADE his career on being as annoying as possible. And this is news…why? Seriously, I think the reason so many people are getting upset isn’t because he’s making jokes about a tragedy. It’s because he’s making you want to laugh at it and you’re displacing your shame and anger at yourself back onto him for it.
Interesting point!
I too like relativism when I’m poking those more unfortunate than I am.
WEAK.
Gilbert Gottfried still brings the funny. He’s tasteless, offensive and hilarious.
But yes, he should have expected to have been fired by AFLAC. If you’re a corporate spokesperson then you have to play nice or risk being fired.
But I love dark humour. What offends me are these ‘arbiters of too soon’ trying to dictate what people should or shouldn’t say.
I’m in two minds about this.. on one hand it feels a bit out of taste to be cracking such jokes so close to the disaster… and i agree that he should not be insulting customers, but at the same time America have Achmed the Dead Terrorist (excuse my spelling) who makes light of the terrorist attack on america and there are TONS of people who still think he is funny… So you can’t say cracking jokes about one disaster is bad but laughing about another is ok.
I think the problem for people like Sarah and Melissa is that they can’t imagine someone making these jokes without being mean-spirited about it because, if they were to tell these jokes, it would only be mean-spirited. And so they assume that anyone else must be the same.
News flash to Sarah and Melissa: not everyone is a nasty c**t like you; some people can tell these jokes, and laugh at them, without directing anger or bile toward anyone. Not you, of course, so you should absolutely refrain from this sort of humor.
(and in case anyone thinks I am going overboard by calling them “nasty c**t”s… well for god’s sake, they just wished death and tragedy on another human being. What would YOU call that?
Thank you!!! I thought these jokes tasteless, but I see no reason to wish any more ill will in this world than already exists…
Precisely!
These comments irritate me.
I am living through this right now in Japan (in an area directly affected by the earthquake), and I did laugh at one or two that were darkly humorous. However, he just did it way too much. He’s obsessing over a horrendous tragedy and mocking it. A small handful of tactless jokes? Tolerable at best. A slew of them? No thanks.
See…this I like. You have a sense of humor. He may have gone overboard, but it’s a way of dealing it. You get it.
I agree 100% with you.
Two of them were kinda funny. The rest were just the result of trying too hard… Gottfried strikes me as a man who just can’t handle the fact that no one pays attention to him anymore.
there are four kinds of people here: people who need to get the stick out of their ass and stop telling people to go die, people who have just come here to troll, people who just came here to start a flame war and people who can’t help but stiffle a laugh at the ensuing tragedies of humanity…i’m more of the latter.
these jokes were effing hillarious. yeah ppl are having a hard time in japan, but as the bible, says ‘laughter doeth good like a medicine’. making jokes about hard times of ‘ANY’ kind is a way of getting thru the grief. ppl who are bad mouthing gilber godfried are just pissed that they aint the ones who thought of the jokes. yeah some may be in bad taste or are ‘too-soon’ but who gives a rats butt. their funny so deal with it. if u dont like them, then GET OFF THIS SITE!! As Carlos Mencia says, if u cant laugh about urself then u have NO RIGHT to laugh at others.
Cruel? Yes. Too soon? Yes. Hilarious? Yes. Gilbert Gottfried has made a career out of vulgar, distasteful humor that elicits as many groans as it does laughs. 10 years ago, he would’ve just told these jokes in his standup act, AFLAC would probably never know about it, and he wouldn’t have lost his job. I think there’s a bigger underlying issue here with how social media can affect employment and employability. The funny thing is that AFLAC losing the duck would be like GEICO losing the gecko. It’s not going to be good for business since it’s been the mascot for so long.
i am so glad other people laughed at this. what happened in japan is awful, but being sad about it isn’t going to make it any better
watch “The cove” and then tell me you give a crap about Japan
I may have laughed if any of the jokes were actually funny.
He should stick to reading someone else’s jokes written for a goose or parrot.
No, you are, for thinking it’s funny.
It was definately tasteless and insensitive.
This is coming from the site that has.
http://artoftrolling.memebase.com/2011/03/12/too-soon-troll-too-t-soon-ami/#comments
Glad they are so consistent with their morals.
P.S I personally have no problem with the jokes, just wanted to point this out.
Not to mention this one.
http://cheezburger.com/e46Dillon/lolz/View/4551120384
But they at least ask if it’s too soon.
Thanks for pointing this out. I don’t visit their other networks.
I sure don’t. I occasionally take a look at the other networks but I mostly stick with the celebs page. The one that I added (which as it stands now is awaiting in moderation even though I added it last night) I only saw because it was on my dashboard when some one had added it to their favorites.
Thank you!
Did you know that to appreciate “black” humor, you need to have high intelligence.
So to everyone that likes this, good for you.
Everyone who doesn’t- joking about it does NOT make a person less sensitive or less appreciative of the gravity of the situation. So don’t get your knickers in a knot, worry about all those poor people who’s houses are gone and worry about radio-activity all you want: These jokes are still funny!
Did you know that people who post on internet forums that they have high intelligence need to be legally retarded?
So everyone who says this, put your helmet back on before you hurt yourself.
*hands you your helmet*
I find it amazing that so many people have just figured out that Gilbert Gottfried is a loser. For crying out loud, the guy does a duck voiceover for a third-rate quasi-insurance company (which seldom pays out, BTW). The guy is classless and deserves his future of ignomity.
Wow, if those “joke” were at least funny…
As if that ahole was using those “jokes” as a coping mechanism. Is if he gave a fk about other people.
Apparently I need to change my posted name on here, because there’s two Melissa’s and the other one doesn’t quite agree with my outlook.
In the meantime, you are all cracking me up. I feel like we all turned into little kids arguing over who took the last cookie.
Mmmmm….cookie.
Well said!! If you don’t like what’s being said, go somewhere else!
As far as ROFLrazzi’s reaction…I’m mostly just confused. Why is it okay to make fun of some tragedies and not others? Is there a specific time frame we’re supposed to wait before we’re allowed to post jokes about it?
Hahahahaha, alot of people died. Who what now?
Those jokes aren’t funny, one of my friends dad died in Japan while on a business trip. Also I have family in Japan and I haven’t heard from them so I have no idea if they survived the tsunami.
I hope your family is okay.
i understand where many of you are coming from in both points of views of it being funny & not being funny. It’s funny in a sense of most people release their hurt and anger through laughter like some of you have said. When you are going through a rough spot in life you tend to turn to something such as comedy to release all the bad stuff.
But in a situation like this I think the jokes were uncalled for. There is nothing funny about the situation that just occured over in Japan. Thousands of innocent people died in this disaster and to be honest, I don’t think that’s something worth laughing about in a joke manner or not.
But too each their own. I’m not trying to wage a war with anyone on this site, just stating my opinion. Which i’m still allowed to do in the united states right?
No. According to people on this site, you are only allowed to state your opinion if they personally find it humorous. If you say something serious or criticize something they like, you are no longer afforded the right to free speech.
I guess that’s in the Constitution somewhere…?
Tl; dr the latter half.
On an unrelated note, it’s a wonder the entire Westboro Baptist Church didn’t fly their arses over there with their signs and crap saying that this tragedy happened b/c Japan has homosexuals over there.
I laugh at your comment now, but hey, they still have time.
Irony.
I only decided to start following him on Twitter because I wanted to find out why everyone was so offended! lollol, it’s the ‘merican way I guess.
Remember the Challenger explosion? I was in high school when that happened, and we had an impromptu gathering right after we heard the news and had a minute of silence at the flagpole. One of my friends edged over to me and whispered, “Hey, did you hear Christa McAuliffe had blue eyes? One blew one way and one blew the other!”
This is Gilbert Gottfried trying to be relevant. I never thought he was funny, so no loss.
I remember that, I was in grade school and our teacher told us that the teacher, McAuliffe was some girl’s aunt that went to our school and that if we saw her crying that was why and we should leave her alone.
He is a comic. This is what comics do.
I have never thought this obnoxious ass hole was funny and I can’t believe so many people are defending him. I am glad he lost his job and I hope he loses more than that. I am absolutely shocked that so many of you found these jokes funny. This is not about “dealing with a difficult situation with comedy” it is about him making fun of a tragedy that caused thousands of deaths. I’m sorry, but I will not lighten up.
Glad to see that people have no respect for anything. Thousands of people dead? Many missing? Many without homes? A country that is now in ruin, facing probably a decade, if not longer, of clean up? HURR HURR IT R FUHNEE.
Really. Grow up. I’m sorry GG isn’t getting worse than just a “lost job”. Obnoxious little s**t, just like the rest of you who have probably never been in a traumatic situation (carpel tunnel from making memes all day doesn’t count).
You tell us to grow up, then wish disaster upon someone for making a joke. Just out of curiosity, Pot, have you met my friend Kettle?
And you’re wrong. It’s fair to say that I’ve been one of the more vocal supporters of Gottfried’s jokes. I lived through Katrina. My home was in ruins and my life was turned upside down, I lost friends. Joking about it helped get me through. If you can laugh at a bad situation, it helps. Before you jump to conclusions and yell at everyone who dares to laugh, telling them to grow up, look in the f**king mirror and do some growing up of your own.
You know what the problem is? It’s just a cheap gimmick by someone who’s just not that funny. *shrug*
These jokes are funny. The problem is that people want humor to be some advanced brain function filled with dignity and compassion, and it’s NOT. Humor is inherently terrible; funny things only happen when something happens that violates reason. Personally, I’m not going to let that prevent me from enjoying it.
If you haven’t donated to the Red Cross or something to help Japan by now, get off your butt and do it instead of complaining about jokes someone else is making thousands of miles away.
I have the utmost respect for the Japanese people; their culture, their engineering, heck even their cartoons. Whatever they do next, however they handle it, I believe it will be more intelligent, graceful, and innovative than the majority of humanity would handle the same situation if it were to occur.
I have never been more proud of their brilliance and educational systems then when I saw their skyscrapers literally swaying back and forth. That’s engineering.
If we didn’t have TV/radio & the internets, most of us would never have heard about this, just like we don’t hear about all the people around the world that die everyday from whatever but aren’t important enough to rate a mention on the news.
He’s just making jokes, it’s not like he’s saying “wow i’m glad all those people died” or “yeah, they deserved that” or anything. It’s not like for every joke he makes a kid dies or the Red Cross loses a dollar or something. It isn’t hurting anyone; it’s just jokes.
PEOPLE, this man is a comedian, he deals with catastrophe through it. He did it 10 years ago with 9/11, and recovered from bombing that one in the best way possible, what makes you think he would think twice about making a joke about the devastation in Japan? The man is a genius, like him or not, and he just deals with things in different ways.
Artists For Disaster Relief Foundation:
http://adrf.deviantart.com/
As well as:
http://zelda994612.deviantart.com/journal/39050329/#comments
1. I didn’t laugh at the tweets, but that’s because I didn’t think they were that clever or funny.
2. I don’t mind if some people did find them funny. Humor is obviously subjective or else all humor would be exactly the same.
3. I didn’t know Gilbert was the AFLAC duck’s voice until this all happened.
4. Gilbert doesn’t care if what he said offended you.
5. No one is saying you’re not allowed to be offended by something you find offensive. But does it really do you or anyone else any good?
6. AFLAC is not the American Government. As a private business that was contracting Gilbert’s services, they had the right to terminate that contract.
7. Gilbert’s not going to starve because he won’t be the AFLAC duck anymore.
If you want to help Japan, help them. Do some good. Send money to relief efforts and words of comfort to the survivors. Shouting at an American comic for his dumb Twitter comments doesn’t count.
Woohoo!
glad to see some ppl on here actually make some sense, and see the light. to the idiots who want to btch, grumble, gripe and complain about the jokes. u need to lighten up, and realize evrybody doesnt think like you. i personally thought the jokes were funny, not cause of all the pain and loss caused by the tsunami or the nuclear explosion, but cause the DAMN JOKES WERE FUNNY. ppl are really pathetic if they can laugh about Jeff Dunham and Achmed the dead terrorist and not this. so if u dont like it, who cares!! its bad enuf that ppl think ‘insult comedy’ is funny. (and in some cases it is), but not this?? if thats not being ‘two-faced’ i dont know what is.
WTF!!!
That man is a megasuperidiot!!!
How can he say things like that, I hope he lost everything!!!
Dude, he lost his job as the voice of duck . . . I don’t think that was his “everything”.
That duck is really going to suck now that he will have to be voiced by some guy intimating. They’ll probably hire GG back when the new guy fails and this whole thing blows over.
Well…it’s quite funny, isn’t it?
In after several hundred pissed-off Otaku.
Yeah, those japanophiles are taking it worse than us Japanese.
hmmm
And yet you make the pun of him being ‘washed up’ … you couldn’t use a different choice of words here, especially if you’re so offended?
*SNORT* HIGH FIVE!!!!!
You were expecting tact and taste from Iago?
The Pacific plates are going crazy at the moment. Too much L&P:)
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
Kiwis amirite? Yeah, I’m right. I’m always right. I know that coz I’m a Kiwi. Yeah. Take that Americans. Apart from Ian and Anthony. I LOVE ANTHONY PADILLA<3
Whoops, lost my train of thought. Hahaa, speaking of trains…this comment is as long as a train LOLOLOLOL
Aaanyway… yeah. Kia kaha Japan and all that. Yeah, I know Maori. I bet you don't. Coz you live in America. I live in New Zealand. Nya-a-a.
Gallows humor is valid humor. I support Gilbert and I laughed. doesn’t mean I’m not helping in other ways. Stupid black and white vision around here…
Goodbye and good riddance. Or rather さよなら。
Say I have no sense of humour. Say I am a dour Nordic. Say what you will. I don’t care. This guy is an a**hole and I will tell you why, so keep reading Yanks – if you’re strong enough. I’m assuming you’re Yanks, because Yanks are the only people that would laugh at this. (And yes. I’ve worked with enough Yanks to know this.) I lived in the Kansai region of Japan and left in November of 1994 – go ahead – Google ‘Kansai’. Two months later, The Hanshin Earthquake killed six thousand people. I had many friends still in the earea at the time, as I had lived in Kyoto (about 40 minuteas away) and had friends in Kyoto and Nara. (Can’t work out where these cities are? Google Hanshin/Kobe Earthqualke 1994).
I returned to live in the Tokyo area from 2000-2004. I lived and worked in Saitama and various small towns nearby, the northernmost of which is Kuki City, where I still have friends. These friends are a couple of hours away from the radiation evacuation zone. I am afraid for them. I am afraid for my friends in Tokyo, as I haven’t heard from them in two days. Two nights ago the grief and frustration overcame me, and I cried for the first time in about five years. It takes a lot to make me cry – a grown, 42 year old, hard-bitten woman. If I watch online footage of the waves coming in, houses and cars being tossed around by the water, ships capsizing, people screaming, I still get a wave of sickness and grief in my stomach. That might have been me. Clinging to a tree. Stuck on a bridge with nowhere to go. Stuck on a roof with people watching me drown. I suppose you would find this funny if you’ve never had the guts to travel beyond your comfortable, cosy middle-class North American suburb. But I find this sh!t so very offensive because this thing is too close to me – yes – Japan, 8,000 kilometres away, but I lived there for over five years. I do care. A lot of us do. We are not all ignorant, decadent, me – me- me airheads with bourgeois values and more money than brains.
Shame on this idiot. Shame, shame, shame. Did Canadian comedians joke about Katrina a week after it happened? No. We did not.
Shame on you America. Perhaps we are right to harbour a century-old smug antiamerican ethos. Shame on you.
YOU ROCK!
AMEN TO THAT dg!!
Exactly the sort of reaction I would expect from Americans. You can dish it out, but you can’t take it. Gotta slam anyone who contradicts you. The usual display of maturity and cross-cultural sensitivity that Americans are famous for. So I’m an arrogant self-righteous btch. Thank you. Coming from you people, that is indeed high praise. You sound like an arrogant self righteous sixteen year old to me. I don’t suppose it ever crossed your mind that people in different cultures think differently than you do, deal with things differently, and may not appreciate foreigners making fun of their tragedies. This is the bit you’re not getting: NON-AMERICANS did NOT make fun of Katrina, and likely never will. It’s time you stopped imposing your standards on everyone else. If you live in a pluralist society, surely you can grasp this concept? We do not think the way you do. By the sounds of it, I’m glad we don’t. Japanese people would never make fun of your grief. It’s disrespectful. And childish. And tasteless. And yes, my Yankee friends, it is about respect. For those of us in the adult world, at least. This could be why you are universally disliked around the world. You are arrogant, selfish, undereducated, obnoxious people. If you’re going to throw sht like this out, man up and take whatever crap comes your way, you abusive hypocritical a**holes. You were asking for it.
“It’s time you stopped imposing your standards on everyone else. ” This is exactly what YOU’RE doing.
dg wins the internets, everytime.
1. Why do I get the feeling that you have a full head (and pants)of gray hair at 42?
2. Americans have had numerous disasters on our own soil, including earthquakes and a nuclear meltdown, not to mention hurricanes, terrorist attacks, and other natural disasters. Suffice it to say we’ve taken crap that has come our way, and will continue to do so.
3. That whole wallo’text? Penis repellent.
Its too soon to joke
WHO GIVES A FLYING F**K?!! THEIR JOKES, IT’S NOT LIKE HE WENT OVER THERE AND STARTED OPEN FIRE ON THEM OR DROP A HYDROGEN BOMB ON THEM!!!!
Aww, poor babies can’t handle some jokes? Who would have ever thought that a comedian would make jokes about something!? It’s absolutely unheard of. The people who genuinely give a damn about the Japanese people are actually doing something. Donating their money, time, or resources. Everybody else that’s just simply saying “Oh, those poor people” may as well just not say anything for all the effect it’s having. People need to grow up and not cry over every stupid thing.
Oh THAT’S rich- you were were the ones who dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagsakii, you a**holes. You definitely can’t read, either. My pants are not full – I’m female. And while you’re at it, go back to grade school and learn how to spell properly – ‘their’ or ‘they’re …? Honestly. Penis repellent? Like I care? Most guys have more balls than brains, as your arguments prove. I do not care about the opinions of men who think like children. I say again – other nationalities did NOT make fun of 9/11 or Katrina or anything. It’s just not done. You get the same natural disasters as any other country… so what. I’ll say it again – we don’t make fun of your tragedies, so don’t do it to others. If you do, you are asking for a reaction, SO SUCK IT UP. You get crap from other countries because of your obnoxious behaviour. Making fun of peoples’ tragedies is just basically rude, childish, and showing no consideration. Don’t blame others if they find your rudeness offensive, they have every right to tell you so. I will not defend your right to be rude and insensitive. As I’ve said, IF YOU CAN’T TAKE IT, DON’T DISH IT. You don’t get to be abusive because someone tells you you are offensive. ** THE GUY GROVELLED AN APOLOGY, SO I GUESS I WAS RIGHT, EH… You’re very abusive people, by the way.
You are very racist.
And you have PROOF that NO ONE from other countries makes these jokes right? Yeah. Thought not.
Hm, did we drop those bombs before or after the attack on PEARL HARBOR?
shes just being a winey pmsing dumbass. along with everyone else whos getting pissed with americans and anyone else who thought these jokes were funny. so who gives a flying f**k what she thinks
Come’on, they’re just jokes – and some actually made me giggle. It doesn’t mean anybody finds the situation in Japan funny. Americans and dark humour…you just don’t get it!
Only critisism: it may be a bit too soon. He should have waited a few more months.