David Chelian, director of the Washington bureau of Yahoo News, was fired in a scandalous fashion at the end of August 2012. The reason for this was an unsuccessful joke dropped by Chelian on the air.
An unpleasant incident occurred during the Internet broadcast of the popular TV channel ABC. The hosts and guests of the program discussed Hurricane Isaac, which hit the state of Louisiana, in connection with which a state of emergency was declared there. At the same time, in the city of Tampa, Florida, the Congress of the Republican Party was held, led by Mitt Romney, the US presidential candidate. In this regard, David Chelian allowed himself a joke, saying that "they (meaning Romney and his party) are happy to have fun in Florida while blacks are drowning."
Yahoo's reaction was immediate. Immediately after the unsuccessful joke of their subordinate, the company's management apologized to Mitt Romney and the Republican party members, their supporters and anyone who in any way might be offended by the words spoken on the air, saying that Chelian's opinion was not the official point of view of the company. The director of the bureau himself was immediately dismissed, which was announced separately. Yahoo claims that it will not cooperate with the offending employee in the future.
The culprit of the scandal also apologized for his unfortunate live pun. He posted them on his personal Facebook page. David Chelian claimed that he did not want to offend Mitt Rumi and his supporters in any way. His goal was simply to laugh at the situation. Also, the former director of the Washington bureau of Yahoo News has apologized to the Governor and his wife Rumi. Chelian also apologized to the Yahoo leadership, who had to be distracted by his irresponsible act.
Meanwhile, the incident did not affect the politician's reputation in any way. According to the latest data, the popularity of Romi is kept at the same level - he caught up with Barack Obama in the number of preliminary votes.
