Aflac insurance fired Gilbert Gottfried last week from his gig as the voice of the Aflac duck. According to CNN, he was fired less than an hour after they received word that he was making jokes on Twitter about the Tsunami in Japan.

Michael Zuna, Aflac’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, released a statement to the pressindicating, ”Gilbert’s recent comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac.”

The comedian, well known for his off the wall sense of humor, apologized for his offensive comments which have since been deleted from his Twitter profile. “I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my attempt at humor regarding the tragedy in Japan,” Gottfried said in a statement. “I meant no disrespect, and my thoughts are with the victims and their families.”Zuna included in his statement that “Aflac Japan — and by extension, Japan itself — is part of the Aflac family, and there is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times.”

Healso added that the company would “immediately set plans in motion to conduct a nationwide casting call to find a new voice of the iconic Aflac Duck.”

Source: CNN / People