Gilbert Gottfried out at Aflac as voice of duck after insensitive Japan tweets

Is it humanly possible for anyone else but Gilbert Gottfried to make the Aflac duck noises?

Gottfried has been terminated by Aflac from his long-term gig as the duck who barks “Aflac” nonstop, after the comic tweeted some jokes about the situation in Japan. Not one to shy away from questionable topical quips, Gottfried famously launched into a detailed version of the old stock joke “The Aristocrats” after a failed 9/11 joke not too long after the attacks, spawning the movie of the same name. Gottfried also tweeted a joke not long after the death of fellow comic and Friars’ Club roast regular Greg Giraldo after the comedian’s death last year.

The offensive tweets are no longer displayed on Gottfried’s Twitter account, but they’ve been widely repeated across the internet. Among the controversial tweets:

What does every Japanese person have in their apartment? Flood lights.

Japan is really advanced. They don’t go to the beach. The beach comes to them.

I was talking to my Japanese real estate agent. I said “is there a school in this area.” She said “not now, but just wait.”

My Japanese doctor advised me to stay healthy I need 50 million gallons of water a day.

In a statement, Aflac’s chief marketing officer Michael Zuna said:

“Gilbert’s recent comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac.. Aflac Japan – and, by extension, Japan itself – is part of the Aflac family, and there is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times.”