KitchenAid battles social media flames over tweet joking about the death of Obama’s grandmother
Whirlpool-owned American brand KitchenAid was in hot water last night, after an insulting tweet was accidentally set from the company account instead of a personal account.
The tweet “Obamas gma even knew it was going 2 b bad! ‘She died 3 days b4 he became president,’ #nbcpolitics” was sent from the brand, then quickly deleted – but not before it had been retweeted multiple times.
The brand apologised, saying “Deepest apologies for an irresponsible tweet that is in no way a representation of the brand’s opinion. #nbcpolitics.”, but the damage was already done at this point.
Cynthia Soledad, head of the brand, sent a series of tweets apologising as well: “Hello, everyone. My name is Cynthia Soledad, and I am the head of the KitchenAid brand.
“I would like to personally apologize to President @BarackObama, his family and everyone on Twitter for the offensive tweet sent earlier.
“It was carelessly sent in error by a member of our Twitter team who, needless to say, won’t be tweeting for us anymore.
“That said, I take full responsibility for my team. Thank you for hearing me out.”
What do you think? Will this social media blooper have a long-term negative effect on the brand, or will it all blow over quickly?
Tomorrow The Drum celebrates those who have been the best on social media in the past year by announcing the nominees for the Social Buzz Awards. Tune in to our live blog at 3pm to find out who made the list!