The American Internet company IAC decided to fire its PR director Justine Sacco after a message appeared on her Twitter page that was regarded as a manifestation of racism, reports the New York Daily News .

“I'm flying to Africa. I hope I don't get AIDS. Kidding. I’m white!” Sacco wrote on her Twitter page while flying to Cape Town.

IAC subsequently issued an official statement calling Sacco's comment "outrageous and offensive," emphasizing that the company in no way shares the views of the author of this "tweet." The company's management also stated that this is a "very serious" issue, promising to take "appropriate measures" against the employee.

After the incident, the “racist tweet” was deleted, and the PR woman’s account also disappeared. At the same time, a separate page has appeared with the hashtag #HasJustineLandedYet , on which users make fun of Sacco by posting parody tweets of the original message, such as “Going to North America. I hope George Zimmerman doesn't shoot me. Kidding. I'm white" and "I'm going to KFC. I hope I can survive this. Kidding. I'm black." The tweeters also leave sarcastic comments about Sacco herself. Many write that she “made a hard landing,” hinting at her dismissal, and post photos of the PR woman with the caption “How to lose your job in 10 seconds.” There are also sympathizers who inform her about vacancies. was also registered The website justinsacco.com , which began raising funds to fight AIDS in Africa.

The IAC company is headed by media mogul Barry Diller (No. 260 in the ranking of the 400 richest businessmen in the United States according to Forbes , worth $2.1 billion). It owns the video hosting Vimeo. online resource The Daily Beast and reference site Ask.com.

American IAC fires PR director for racist tweet