Home Depot apologizes for racist tweet

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

NEW YORK (AP) - Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. on Thursday apologized for a tweet that showed a picture of two African-American drummers with a person in a gorilla mask in between them and asked: "Which drummer is not like the others?"

The tweet, from Home Depot's official Twitter account, (at)HomeDepot, was part of a "College Gameday" college football promotion on ESPN. It was quickly pulled, but not before people took screen shots of it and it was widely circulated on social media. NBC and CNBC, among others, reported on the Tweet.

Home Depot said Friday that it has fired the person and outside agency that was responsible for the tweet, but did not disclose their names.

"We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive," said Stephen Holmes, spokesman for the Atlanta-based company.

Holmes said the company is "closely" reviewing its social media procedures to determine "how this could have happened, and how to ensure it never happens again."

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131108/DA9UL9QG1.html

[Fridays Child]

1. What the hell is wrong with people?

Last edited Sun Nov 10, 2013, 03:32 PM - Edit history (1)

[SoapBox]

2. ...exactly.

Global warming? Ozone?

The STOOPID in America today is amazing.

[BlueJazz]

21. I think (in keeping with the George Bush mentality)..we should boycott Lowe's.

....and then maybe move on to Office Depot. (Who probably had something to do with it also)

[tofuandbeer]

3. Wow. That is unbelievable. Our country sure can be a sad place.

[olddad56]

4. Boycott Home Depot of just a week. No excuse for this bullshit.

[Alamuti Lotus]

6. Why? The company wasn't directly responsible, and immediately took solid disciplinary action

Not entirely sure why a company is outsourcing its social media efforts, but I suppose such bonkers practice is the present trend in business.

[CFLDem]

7. A good reason social media is outsourced

is to provide plausible deniability in cases like above.

[Posteritatis]

8. Why pay their employees for it when they can contract out at a mere thrice the cost?

I don't get it either, but it certainly seems to be a thing these days...

[sendero]

9. You meant...

... a mere third.

[Posteritatis]

17. I didn't, actually.

Just about every instance I've seen in the jobs I've worked in of employers contracting out every other thing have involved doing so at a much higher cost than getting someone in-house to do it, and often just don't do so as well as someone in-house could either.

[sendero]

18. Well for some things I agree...

... but some functions like this are too episodic to justify even a single full time employee. In such cases outsourcing is the right answer.

[drynberg]

16. If I smash you in the face, saying "Sorry" doesn't make it go away, this was unacceptable and an

Apology ain't an eraser or a magic wand that turns back the hands of time. They fucked up, big time.

[groundloop]

10. Huh???? That link is about OFFICE Depot.

[thesquanderer]

11. Home Depot is not Office Depot (n/t)

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

12. I think their prompt action was spot on.

No dillydallying here, deal with it, make it happen!

[SHRED]

13. Home Depot supports the GOP

When are they going to apologize for that?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. Too late,...the social media is all over this....

[Nine]

15. Some people sure do love their racism.

They will sacrifice their livelihood for the fleeting thrill of making some racist statement.

[Sunlei]

19. name the 'outside agency' if they care to blame them.

[AverageJoe90]

20. This may not have been *intentionally* racist, BUT.....

It was still rather stupid and many did take offense, so taking down the photo was not only a decent action, but also, IMHO, the right action, along with the apology.

People really need to THINK before they do stuff.