IAC fires PR exec Justine Sacco over ‘racist’ tweet over AIDS

IAC’s Chief Communications Director Justine Sacco tweeted, ‘Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!’ on her way to Cape Town Friday. The single tweet has sparked what some are calling ‘rage donations’ to AIDS charities.

Justine Sacco, the chief communications director for IAC, may need a refresher course in...PR.

Sacco has been sacked.

Justine Sacco, the New York PR executive who sparked a global firestorm for her wildly insensitive tweet on AIDS, was fired Saturday by her bosses at media conglomerate IAC.

“There is no excuse for the hateful statements that have been made and we condemn them unequivocally,” said a rep for the company, which includes brands such as OKCupid, Vimeo, and the Daily Beast.

“The offensive comment does not reflect the views and values of IAC. We take this issue very seriously, and we have parted ways with the employee in question.”

Sacco, 30, tweeted Friday, "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!" before taking off for South Africa.

But one web-savvy savant turned hate into opportunity, linking the website www.justinesacco.com to Aid for Africa, a group of nonprofits that have seen a serious spike in donations.

Visitors to www.justinesacco.com are redirected to Aid for Africa, a small nonprofit that has seen a tremendous spike in donations.

"There's definitely an uptick of people giving to us since that happened," Barbara Alison Rose, the executive director of Aid for Africa, told the Daily News.

"Certainly, a big increase over what we'd normally see," she said, adding that the small, Bethesda, Md.-based nonprofit is seeing a steady stream of donations of about three per hour, versus the usual three per day.

The young blond's ill-fated tweet has all but taken over social media networks, with the hashtag #HasJustineLandedYet trending on Twitter, and real-time flight statuses popping up when searching Google for Sacco's name.

One Twitter user even claimed to have spotted Sacco with a friend at the Cape Town airport.

Yup. @JustineSacco HAS in fact landed at Cape Town international. She's decided to wear sunnies as a disguise. pic.twitter.com/2I3WZQCIci

— Zac (@Zac_R) December 21, 2013

Justine Sacco the chief communications director for IAC tweeted "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!"

By Saturday afternoon, the IAC website was scrubbed clean of all traces of Sacco.

A Twitter account claiming to be Sacco emerged early Saturday in which a person claiming to be the PR exec apologized for her racist tweet. "I'm truly sorry."

The account could not be independently verified by the Daily News.

Other parody Twitter accounts have sprung up mocking the PR exec, including "JustinePsycho" and "LOL Justine Sacco," making light of the offensive tweet. One reads, "OMG is 'Affluenza' a thing in South Africa? If so, hand me a box of wine, some Valium, and the keys to a Prius!? LOL."

Twitter user "TwittsMcGee" noted, "Justine Sacco is what happens when you watch too much Duck Dynasty."

But Rose has more sympathy towards the small-minded Sacco. "I would hope it provides the opportunity for people — especially Justine — to understand that this isn't funny," she said.

"I'm so sorry for her, but she's in PR. She should know better."