Justine Sacco, PR executive, tweets racist joke

Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Justine Sacco, the communications director for IAC, which represents the OKCupid dating website, made a racist joke about not getting AIDS while on a flight to South Africa.

While on a flight from London to South Africa, which is where her family is from, Sacco tweeted Friday, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

The post immediately garnered backlash from the public on Twitter, where the hashtag #HasJustineLandedYet began to trend.

Immediately upon landing in South Africa and realizing angry Twitter users were awaiting her arrival, Sacco deleted the tweet and indeed her entire Twitter account.

After the tweet, someone created the website www.justinesacco.com, which linked to several charities benefitting sub-Saharan Africa.

“This is an outrageous, offensive comment that does not reflect the views and values of IAC,” the media conglomerate said in a statement. “This is a very serious matter and we are taking appropriate action.”