Home Depot Racist Tweet Linked To Employee
Home Depot’s racist tweet was linked to a specific employee who was apparently working through an employment agency. Officials with the home improvement company said they terminated the individual and will no longer work with the agency.
The offensive message was posted to Twitter using the official profile for The Home Depot. The racist tweet featured two black employees wearing their orange work shirts, grey pants, orange shoes, and black jackets. Sitting between them is another person dressed as a gorilla. The gorilla is wearing orange overalls.
All three are sitting on orange 5-gallon buckets, using overturned buckets as drums. The tweet appears to be part of a promotion, as a banner in the background says “College Gameday.” The tweet also mentions Home Depot’s support of College Game Day.
The controversial portion of the message says: “Which drummer is not like the others?” The offensive message was immediately noticed by numerous Twitter users.
When company officials realized what happened, they immediately removed the offensive message and issued numerous apologies; a majority of the apologies contained the same text. However, they were each directed to individual users and organizations, including the NAACP:
“We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. Deeply sorry. We terminated agency and individual who posted it.”
RT @OhMyGOFF Not sure what Home Depot has in the toolbox to fix this “@imfro Here’s a screenshot of @HomeDepot tweet pic.twitter.com/R1GmK5Iwv6″
— Jonathan Wall (@imfromraleigh) November 8, 2013
International Business Times reports that company officials are currently reviewing their social media interaction policies to avoid similar incidents in the future. Although apologies were issued via Twitter, they were soon overtaken with promotional material. The company’s feed is now packed with home improvement tips, sale announcements, and promotions for NASCAR.
@OfficiallyIce @NAACP We are deeply sorry for the dumb tweet and have deleted it.
— The Home Depot (@HomeDepot) November 7, 2013
The Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus. Their vision of a one-stop home improvement store eventually turned into a multibillion-dollar enterprise.
In 1989, the home-improvement giant celebrated the opening of their 100th store. The stores can now be found in the US, Canada, Mexico, and China.
We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. Deeply sorry. We terminated agency and individual who posted it.
— The Home Depot (@HomeDepot) November 7, 2013
Home Depot’s racist tweet was upsetting to many people. However, it was traced to a particular individual. Company officials said the “dumb tweet” does not reflect the their beliefs or values.
[Image via Flickr]
