Buzz
1. Taylor Palmisano
Credit: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
2. Jofi Joseph
Believing that tweeting under a pseudonym grants you the freedom to vent about your job anonymously? Reconsider. In October, Jofi Joseph, a director at the National Security Staff in the White House, was exposed as the person behind @natsecwonk, a gossip-driven account that mocked White House officials. Joseph was dismissed after an intricate investigation by colleagues revealed his involvement in tweets like, 'Vitriol against @arifleischer is entirely justified. He married a woman a decade younger—and she’s as unattractive as he is! #jackass' and 'Has Tagg Romney, a rich kid, ever been in a fight? [...] He should tell his mom to shed 15 pounds.'
3. Nicole Crowther
Source: Huffington Post
The wrath of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk is unmatched. After Glee extra Nicole Crowther tweeted a spoiler about a crucial scene, co-creator Falchuk replied, 'Hope you’re qualified to work outside of entertainment,' and he meant it. The actress later revealed she was barred from multiple casting agencies for weeks, and the agency responsible for Glee casting informed her she would never work on any of their shows again.
4. Sunith Baheerathan
Terrible idea: Posting about drug deals on Twitter. Even worse: Tweeting about conducting drug deals at your workplace. The absolute worst: Sharing your exact work location so authorities can locate you, leading to job loss. This is precisely what occurred to Sunith Baheerathan, an employee at Mr. Lube in Vaughan, near Toronto. Shortly after he tweeted, 'Any dealers in Vaughan wanna make a 20sac chop? Come to Keele/Langstaff Mr. Lube, need a spliff,' local police stumbled upon his thinly veiled message. Const. Blair McQuillan of York Regional Police replied, 'Awesome! Can we come too?' and alerted Mr. Lube about the potential drug transaction. Baheerathan was subsequently dismissed.
5. Two Firefighters
"Turn down a woman, and she’ll hold onto it forever. Just one of the many flaws of their gender. Plus, they have weak arms." "Would smacking [sic] her in the back of the head count as abuse or a way to reboot her brain?"
6. Phil Hardy
Source: Buzzfeed
7. Gene Morphis
8. Carly McKinney
Unless you’re a Kardashian, posting revealing selfies online can seriously damage your career. Take 23-year-old former high school teacher Carly McKinney, for example. She didn’t just share inappropriate photos of herself; many of them showed her smoking marijuana. She even called one of her 10th-grade students “jailbait” and confessed to grading papers while under the influence. Despite her claims that it was a parody account, McKinney lost her job.
9. Gilbert Gottfried
Image: Huffington Post
If you weren’t aware of the controversy, Gilbert Gottfried made several inappropriate jokes about the 2011 Japan tsunami. Aflac, for whom Gottfried voiced the iconic duck, was far from amused. Upon discovering his offensive remarks, the insurance company swiftly terminated his contract. Their chief marketing officer stated, "Gilbert’s comments about the tragedy in Japan were not only unfunny but also completely misaligned with Aflac’s values."
10. Catherine Deveny
Gilbert isn’t the only comedian to face consequences for ill-advised tweets. Australian comic Catherine Deveny sparked outrage in 2010 with a series of offensive posts, including one on Anzac Day and another targeting 12-year-old Bindi Irwin. Her tweet, "I really hope Bindi Irwin gets laid," led to her dismissal as a columnist for The Age just two days later.
11. Grad Student "Cisco Fatty"
The "Cisco Fatty" incident is a classic example of impulsive tweeting leading to job loss—even before the job began. After receiving a job offer, a grad student tweeted, "Cisco offered me a job! Now I have to decide if a big paycheck is worth the commute to San Jose and hating the work." Her excitement likely turned to dread when Cisco responded, "Who’s the hiring manager? They’d love to know you’ll hate the work. We at Cisco are very web-savvy."
Her identity was eventually uncovered, largely due to public outrage over her ungrateful attitude, and the job offer was swiftly withdrawn. Since then, the internet has immortalized the story, dubbing the dismissed student "Cisco Fatty."
12. Tweeter for Chrysler
Image: Vice
Following a series of mundane tweets such as "Good morning. How was everyone's weekend?" and "If you were arriving at a red carpet event, which Chrysler vehicle would you choose?", the official Chrysler account posted, "It’s ironic that Detroit is called the #motorcity, yet no one here seems to know how to f***ing drive." The employee responsible mistakenly thought he was logged into his personal account.
13. A Los Angeles Waiter
14. Mike Bacsik
Former MLB pitcher Mike Bacsik was employed by Dallas radio station The Ticket when he posted a controversial tweet about the San Antonio Spurs' victory over the Mavericks: "Congrats to all the dirty Mexicans in San Antonio." Despite issuing an apology the following day—a move similar to Gilbert Gottfried’s attempt—the fallout was inevitable, and he was dismissed from The Ticket.
15. Octavia Nasr
Even seasoned professionals like CNN analysts can slip up. Octavia Nasr, CNN’s Senior Editor for Mideast affairs, faced termination after tweeting in July 2010: "Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah… One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot." CNN deemed the statement damaging to her impartiality and credibility.
16. California Pizza Kitchen Employee
A California Pizza Kitchen employee vented his frustration about the chain’s new uniforms on Twitter, writing, "@calpizzakitchen black button-ups are the lamest s*** ever!!! #CaliporniaSkeetzaKitchen." The company identified him and terminated his employment. However, as a popular YouTube personality with a massive following, he didn’t stay silent. Watch his fiery response here.
This post was initially published a few weeks ago, following this incident.
