Public-relations executive Justine Sacco issued an apology Sunday after publishing an offensive tweet that joked about AIDS and race, according to a report.
"Words cannot express how sorry I am, and how necessary it is for me to apologize to the people of South Africa, who I have offended due to a needless and careless tweet," Sacco said in a statement to ABC. "There is an AIDS crisis taking place in this country, that we read about in America, but do not live with or face on a continuous basis. Unfortunately, it is terribly easy to be cavalier about an epidemic that one has never witnessed firsthand."
Sacco added that AIDS does not "discriminate by race, gender or sexual orientation," and that she was "ashamed" of her comment. The former executive first sent her statement to South African newspaper The Star before sharing it with ABC.
Sacco, who was born in South Africa, was flying to her home country when she posted the tweet on Friday. As she traveled from London, Twitter erupted with calls for her dismissal, using the hashtag #HasJustineLandedYet.
Internet company IAC, which represents brands such as Ask.com, College Humor and Match.com, fired Sacco on Saturday. She was previously IAC's senior director of corporate communications.
Soon after the incident, Sacco's account was deleted -- but not before people discovered that many of her previous tweets included "casual racism."
Although most of the commentary centered on criticizing Sacco, some reacted by donating funds to AIDS research. Visitors to JustineSacco.com are redirected to Aid for Africa, while another website that references Sacco's tweet is accepting donations for AIDS relief.
Mashable was unable to immediately reach Sacco for comment.
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